


The Grimoire Stone

by shullieq



Series: Exquisite Desire [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Deidara - Freeform, ItaDei - Freeform, Itachi - Freeform, Itachi/deidara - Freeform, M/M, Vampires, Werewolves, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2020-05-12 03:54:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 100,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19221055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shullieq/pseuds/shullieq
Summary: Four months after their return from the ordeal with the Shadow Hunters, Itachi and Deidara's lives have returned to as normal as it can get in a house of vampires and werewolves, but when a newcomer returns to tip the balance of power in the local witch coven, Itachi and Deidara must set out again to help their friends.





	1. The Dream

**Author's Note:**

> I've been musing over a sequel to Exquisite Desire for quite a long time and finally have an outline for it, so I decided to begin writing. If you haven't the first work, Exquisite Desire, I don't think you need to read it to understand this one, but it is a lot of fun (I think) so you should read it anyway.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this, let me know what you think~

_The flowers were in full bloom, their sweet scent pushed through the hills by a cool spring breeze. Stalks of wild orchids, roses, lavender, sage, and flowering plants with unknown names towered over him as he lay in their midst, staring up at the white, fluffy cloud floating by, much closer here on the mountain side. It was peaceful and relaxing. He had dreamed of this place many times before, but it had always been someone else’s memories; the real thing was even more surreal than a memory. He reached out and ran his fingers against the stalks of a wild lavender plant and held his hands up to his nose to inhale the relaxing scent. He could lay up here for days and be content, under the shade of a young rowan tree; he could take a nap and awaken only to see new clouds._

_A small voice called out suddenly, drawing his attention back down to the earth. After staring at the great blueness of the sky for so long, the greenness of the earth with its grass and trees and wildness dazzled his eyes with the intensity of their Aliveness. It took a moment for his eyes to be able to distinguish any color other than green as he sat up and rubbed them to help them recover quickly. The voice sounded like a lost child, but what child would be up on the mountain this high all alone? He stood and began his search, calling out gently, not wanting to scare the frightened sounding child._

_Finally, against the outcrop of rock where the mountain continued up, he spotted a bit of color that wasn’t a flower and knelt down a peaceable distance away. “Hello,” he said gently. “What’s wrong? Are you lost? Are you hurt?”_

_The child looked no older than three or four, rubbing their eyes with their small fists as they sniffed woefully. They seemed to have wedged themselves between the rocks to hide from something. He held his arms out for the child who crept forward after a moment and buried their face into his chest as he held them. “Where’s momma?”_

_Suddenly, he knew he was dreaming and the beautiful plants around him became all wrong. The words that came out were in a language he didn’t know, yet the dream had both heard the foreign words and translated for him. The place hadn’t become dangerous, but something seemed suddenly not right. The plants were watching them with, the flowers all turned towards him as if he was the sun, their gaze intense and aggressive. The child was warm and terrified in his arms, so he stood, holding them tight. “Who are you?” he asked softly._

_The child clung to him, sniffling and clutching his clothes. “I’m scared,” they cried. “I don’t know where I am. I don't know where I am. I'm scared. I want my momma!”_

_“Don’t worry, I’ll take you home,” he paused and turned to give the mountain his back to take the long walk home with the plants following his movements, but froze, eyes staring wide at the valley below. He shouldn’t be able to see the great beautiful old castle that was his home so clearly and so large, but the dream made it so. In fact, in this dream state, he could even see the normally invisible barrier bought from the magical witches to protect the land the castle stood on. It looked like a great crystal dome encasing it, sheltering it and shining like a snow globe coated in diamonds. And beyond… he clutched the child protectively, his heart racing._

_A darkness like a storm was rising in the distance, blood red and slowly drawing ever closer, reaching for the city, the farms, the suburbs. He didn’t know what it was, but it was dangerous, and he had to get home before it engulfed him. He wouldn’t survive if he was caught outside when the storm reached the mountain. “Don’t worry,” he repeated to the child. “I’ll keep you safe.”_

_The child lifted their head, staring up at him with large, heavy lidded, and emotionless honey brown eyes. “I’m so hungry,” the child murmured in an older, familiar voice._

Itachi gasped as he sat up in bed, heart racing.

There was no child. No darkness. Just a dream. He exhaled slowly, pushing the sheets off himself and swung his legs over the side of the bed, feeling the plush rug under his toes as he padded over to the window, pushing open the curtain and climbed up onto the window seat to turn the latch so he could open the window, letting in the crisp spring air. He breathed in deeply to calm down, sniffing up the spring, the rich earth, the early flowers that were much more natural than the flowers in his dream. The window, embedded in stone several stories above the ground, offered a pristine view of the wild German landscape that stretched out towards the north as hills of grass and spring bulbs pushing up and the trees clustered in secure forests that hid its wildlife’s secrets. Far in the distance, he could see the mountain in his dream, close, but not nearly as close as he had seen it in the dream. He had climbed up the mountain only a week ago with Wes, the head gardener of the estate who wanted to show those willing to take the hike the spring blooming wild and free. Itachi had never climbed up a mountain before, not even Mount Fuji even when he was in Japan, and though it had taken the troop of humans and several werewolves and their children nearly five hours to hike to the top, he had found it a wonder land straight out of a picture book or dream.

The dream.

He exhaled slowly and searched inward, though it wasn’t that difficult to find the familiar and comforting path to the other body that shared a piece of his soul. His undead, vampiric partner would be in his Suntime death, but he would always be able to find Deidara and speak to him mind to mind. Itachi and Deidara were Silluetu, someone who has shared souls, melding them together until they were nearly one person in two separate bodies. The exchange had been painful, but after the pieces of their souls had found comfortable nooks in their new homes, Itachi felt it had been worth it.

Deidara was in Sam’s room and he was about to pull away, not wanting to disturb them when he felt Deidara reach out and clutch onto his thoughts to hold him. _‘You’re up early, un,’_ came Deidara’s thoughts in his mind. Not long ago, ten in the morning wasn’t very early, but since he came to live with vampires, waking at ten was much like waking at four in the morning.

 _‘Yeah, sorry… I was just wondering where you were,’_ Itachi told him, leaning on the window sill so that he could look down at the walled gardens. He couldn’t see anyone working at the moment from this angle. _‘I had a strange dream…’_

He felt Deidara reach out to him more and smiled, opening their connection wider so that the vampire could feel the morning spring time he could no longer touch without pain. _‘A nightmare?’_ came the concerned question after a few moments of happiness.

 _‘Not really, just strange…’_ Itachi replied, relaying as much of the dream as possible. The child that had been horribly familiar, but younger than Itachi had known him. Sasori, Deidara’s Maker, the narcissistic psychopath who had manipulated their lives only a handful of months ago. But he had been much older and more terrifying than the scared, crying child in his dream and no longer human enough to feel warm to the touch.

_‘Sasori as a human kid, un? Did you eat something weird last night?’_

Itachi gave a slight roll of his eyes that Deidara couldn’t see. _‘The thing coming towards us just feels…’_

 _‘Just a dream, Itachi~’_ came the playful croon. 

A small knock on his door brought his attention back to his bedroom. He paused looking back at the door, smiling as he waited with his feet swinging back to the rug. A few whispers sounded and giggles followed. Reaching out, he knocked four times on the window and several pairs of hands mimicked the knocking excitedly with another burst of giggles. Smiling, he dropped down on the floor and went to the door, opening it with a raised eyebrow to stare down at the beaming, giggling werewolf children who would wait and listen carefully for when he had gotten up. 

“Guten Morgen, shouldn’t you be doing school work?” he said to them in German and they all cried the greeting back to him, then ran shrieking with childish glee back down the hallway. 

He returned to his room to change his clothes and walked down the chilled stone hallways towards the kitchen and breakfast, trying to ignore the feeling of dread the dream had left him yet. Not so much dreaming of Sasori as a human child, but the darkness approaching the castle. What felt like only a few weeks and not months ago, both Itachi and Deidara suffered at the hands of the Shadow Hunters who had believed that the soul union between the two of them to be an abomination. Itachi had been born a Shadow Hunter, but after the massacre of his family by the Shadow Hunters for seeking peace between the paranormal and Shadow Hunters, he had been raised as a human in central Tokyo living in foster homes and orphanages until he was able to secure a scholarship to high school that allowed him to live in a closet sized apartment on his own, squandering to live until Deidara found him and brought him back to Germany to live with him. The Shadow Hunters had tried and failed to separate them and, though Deidara wanted to have another adventure, Itachi was enjoying his life spent studying in his library and playing with the small hoard of werewolf pups who hadn’t yet reached the age in which the change would come to them.

Halfway to the kitchen, he met Rose, nine years old and eldest of the werewolf children – the only one who had completed her change, who was coming out of her room, dressed in a light blue sun dress and beaming at him. “You’re up so early! Want to come study and eat lunch with us!” she said, clutching his arm.

“Am I invited?” he asked her, just to be polite. The adult werewolves had told him that he was always welcome at their tables after he had saved their pups from the Shadow Hunter invasion the year before.

“Always~” Rose beamed, leading him through the maze of hallways to the southern wing of the castle where the visiting pack, who had come from Denmark to seek the protection Deidara’s castle offered, was living and the children who all jumped up from where they were scribbling away at the table while their parents had already started making lunch distracted him from the uneasy feeling the dream had given him.


	2. Anita Engel

“You didn’t have to come with me,” Itachi said as he got out of the car.

Deidara gave him a look from across the roof as he shut the door, then stuck his nose in the air with an illusion of dignity and walked around the car. “There is no way in hell I’m going to let you go into that house alone, un,” he stated, jabbing a finger at Itachi than stuffing his hands into his pockets, looking more like a sullen teenager than ever.

“It’s just Chloe,” Itachi persisted.

“Chloe Engel is not as safe as you think.” It was an old argument. Deidara didn’t like witches and was quite verbal about it. Itachi, however, thought Chloe was very kind and, though perhaps Chloe’s cousins were a little strange, had no reason to believe that witches were as distrustful and unlikeable as Deidara seemed to think. He had thought that Deidara had liked Chloe as well, but apparently not enough to trust her completely. “And this isn’t Chloe’s shop.”

“Well, she invited me here to pick up my spell,” Itachi said, giving the argument up as a lost cause as he turned to the house that was still a slight walk away from the other side of a black wrought iron gate. He had expected Chloe Engel’s house to be similar to her shop – small, quaint, and earthy, perhaps a cheerful yellow with flowers and herbs spilling out of every crevice, but he was wrong. The address wasn’t a house, but a villa of sorts. It was big and grand with a large front porch painted white, displaying tall windows that decorated the front of house. Different parts of the outside of the house around it seemed to have been added on, reflecting a different style of architectural era than melded together in a way that should have been wrong, but still managed to look naturally intentional. As Itachi peered through the gate, he smiled; it was almost too dark to see, but the porch lights and fairy lights set up around the yard showed the main house was a cheerful yellow and plants seemed to be bursting out of everywhere.

“We should have waited until she opened the shop again, un.”

Itachi turned to give the vampire kicking a little rock around with his skull decorated sneakers a scowl, annoyed at his insistent dislike. Deidara hunched his shoulders nearly up to his ears at the look, but didn’t take the statement back, so Itachi turned to examine the iron gate, wondering how they were going to get through or send notice of their arrival to the house. He only had the number of Chloe’s shop, not her private contacts.

“Itachi,” came a soft call from inside the gated property. He squinted into the dark and saw movement from under a blacker patch that must have been caused from a tree. As the figure stepped closer to the lights on the street, Itachi realized it was Chloe’s cousin Priscilla who he had met only twice at the Halloween festival and the Spring festival held in the city. She was as frail looking as he remembered, though her hair was no longer braided into a bun, but in twists that hung down her back with dried flowers and beads stuck in it – as well as what looked like a forgotten pencil – with a book in her hand. “I am so glad you survived,” she said in her misty voice, the same uncomfortable greeting she had used when he met her at the Spring festival a few weeks ago after he and Deidara had returned home. Her large eyes looked dark in the twilight, but he knew they were the same hazel as Chloe’s and were staring at him intently. “I was waiting for you to come visit us.”

“Chloe invited me,” he told her. “Did she tell you?”

“No,” she replied, “but I knew you were coming.”

“Oh,” Itachi swallowed, always nervous at Priscilla’s strangeness – on his end, Deidara felt smug. Even though the witches had always insisted that Priscilla wasn’t a psychic who could see the future, her knowledge and understanding of the world around her was extremely eerie. “Can we come in?”

“Yes. You are invited,” she replied simply.

“But the gate…”

“You are invited,” she repeated, continuing to stare at him.

Itachi glanced back at Deidara, who gave a shrug. No help there. Looking back at the gate, he let his eyes become unfocussed. It took a moment, but the magic placed on the gate slowly became apparent, shimmering over the black iron like a mirage. With Priscilla still staring at him with her large eyes, Itachi took a deep breath and took a step forward with his hand outstretched. His hand didn’t touch anything, and he slid through the gate as if it wasn’t there. “Oh,” he blinked, now on the same side of the gate as Priscilla.

Deidara tried to follow, but the magic of the gate wouldn’t allow him to pass and he ran into it with a loud clang. He growled angrily, but Priscilla didn’t flinch as she continued to stare up at Itachi as she said, “Itachi was invited.”

The vampire’s anger flared up dangerously, but Itachi smiled and held his hand out to him calmly. The gesture seemed to quell the anger momentarily enough for Itachi to speak and the blond to listen. “Deidara and I are the same now,” he stated as he reached out mentally to his other half to calm him down. The vampire stared at him, but accepted and stepped forward, forcing his way through the magic of the gate until he stood next to Itachi, panting heavily with the effort but on the inside of the gate.

“Interesting,” Priscilla commented unperturbed, though she didn’t sound very interested. She turned and began walking towards the house.

The pathway was made of smooth stone that was bordered by sweet smelling things he couldn’t see until Deidara reached out mentally and lent him his ability to see without much light. He realized why a moment later and barely managed to avoid stepping into a small channel of water that was connected to a few ponds that seemed to form shapes and patterns in the walk way. He could see tiny flowers growing on the water’s surface as well as fish swimming under them. He smiled gratefully at Deidara, who was still too annoyed to make any response. They followed Priscilla up the front steps and through the carved wooden door and into a grand foyer warmly lit by the lights on the walls. Unsure of what to do, Itachi stood by the door with his vampire as the witch walked deeper into the house without them. He wondered if they should follow her.

“Why is there a vampire in this house?” came a booming voice from above causing them both to jump.

“I invited them, _oma_ ,” called a familiar voice a moment before Chloe Engel descended the staircase. “Hello Itachi,” she said, her smile wide and warm. “Deidara,” she added in surprise, though just as friendly, “how did you get through the gate?”

“I am not letting my human into this house without me, un,” Deidara muttered, about to move in front of Itachi to guard him, but the brunette gave him an elbow to the ribs. 

“Kit and Sam have been here many times,” she commented, a little coolly.

“And Kit was a maniac who tried to kill us, un!” Deidara snapped defensively.

“Deidara and I are the same,” Itachi explained, not wanting Deidara to insult his friend, nor the witch who was protecting their home. “We share souls, remember? I was going to visit your…” he paused, noting her less than cheerful clothing and her puffy eyes. “Chloe, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothi…” she broke off, then clasped her hands and looked down at them. “Oh, Itachi…” she murmured with a fondness he didn’t understand, then looked up at him, her hazel eyes sad. “I think my _oma_ is dying,” she finally told him in a heavy tone. “That is why my shop is closed. She has ruled our family for ninety-seven years, since her mother died… but I feel her time is almost over.”

“Chloe, I’m sorry,” Itachi said, both in earnest and aghast. “You didn’t have to make my spell while your grandmother is…” he stopped and turned to give the indifferent looking vampire a reproachful look at the small scoff he had made.

_‘She was a dangerous witch, un.’_

_‘That doesn’t matter,’_ Itachi scolded.

“Thank you for your empathy, Itachi,” Chloe said with a small smile. “But work takes my mind of it and it’s best to deliver spells to the purchaser as soon as they’re ready.”

“Bring them to me!” came the booming voice upstairs. It was too loud to be a normal voice. Itachi wondered if it was magically enhanced.

Chloe hesitated a moment and Deidara grabbed Itachi’s arm with the full intent to rush him out of the house. “No,” the vampire said, more to Chloe than Itachi. “Chloe’s grandmother is extremely powerful witch and witches only become that powerful through blood and pain and death magic, un.”

“My family does not deal in death magic,” Chloe said, looking angry. “We never had.”

“Deidara, child of night, Master of the City, offspring of Sasori, your real name is lost to history so that I cannot True Name you, but you will come to me!”

Deidara scowled, but Itachi gently removed his hand from his arm and walked the stairs that creaked only a little as they climbed. The vampire was obnoxiously close to him like an aggressive shadow and moved in to walk in front of him as soon as they reached the landing of the second floor and Chloe led them to a door. The furniture in the bedroom was aged, but not as much as the woman lying on the four-poster bed propped up by pillows and surrounded by medical equipment that beeped quietly. Her wrinkled face was ancient, but her eyes reminded him of many vampires Itachi had met. Eyes that had seen so much. Ancient, powerful eyes.

“Your human is much taller than I thought he would be,” she stated when they were before her. Her aged voice was scratched but strong. “A Human Servant. I have not heard of such a thing before.”

Something about this woman, lying helpless among pillows and lace detailed throws, made the words that had become an automatic reaction when anyone called him a Human Servant died in Itachi’s throat. His brain couldn’t make up its mind. Frail, but dangerous. Slight, but strong. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, even as the clear tubes that wrapped across her face made the slightest puffing noise and she breathed in the oxygen. He found himself unable to hold her gaze and stared instead at the dried flowers that lay on the blankets of the bed that was far too big for one frail woman.

“Silluetu. Itachi is not a servant, un.”

A small smile twitched the corners of his mouth, grateful for the insight their souls gave each other as Deidara spoke the words for him.

“A Silluetu?” the woman raised a white eyebrow, her wrinkled brown skin as thin as paper stretching slightly. “That sounds like an old language I don’t know.”

“It means ‘soul sharer’,” Itachi finally said, still staring at the dried, deep red flowers.

“It speaks!” the woman explained, giving a soft cackle. “And it speaks German, surprisingly well accented. Very natural.”

“Yes, I do,” Itachi said to the flowers. “Thank you.”

“Itachi speaks three languages,” Deidara said with undisguised defensive pride. “And he’s learning a fourth, too.”

“Look at me, boy.” Itachi swallowed and raised his eyes to look at her deep brown ones. It was nearly as hard as meeting the eyes of the dominant werewolves. “Are you a timid creature?” she questioned, almost in a mocking tone.

He considered this. When he first came to Germany, unable to speak to anyone except Deidara who frightened him, perhaps he had been timid, but he felt shy was a better word. Learning German had helped, but he had still felt awkward among adults who were so much older than him. Humans who lived with vampires were gifted with long, nearly ageless life so even though they looked close to his age, they were not. But he had found his place in this world of supernatural creatures. “No, I’m not timid,” he replied. He had crossed the world to rescue his vampire from an enemy that had wanted to kill him. He was Deidara’s equal and a timid creature couldn’t be equal with his explosive Child Vampire. “You’re just a very formidable woman,” he added.

“Yes, I am,” she agreed. “Even old and dying as I am.”

“Oma…” Chloe said, both reproachful and sad.

“Chloe, child, you must accept death as a part of life’s cycle or you will never appreciate the life around you,” the woman said, her voice much softer and affectionate, though still as sternly as a teacher. “What is your name, boy?”

Itachi opened his mouth to answer, but Chloe spoke first in a firm and chiding tone. “This is Itachi, Oma. Don’t trick him into giving you his true name; he doesn’t know to safeguard himself even among allies.”

Deidara growled, Itachi feeling the blond ready to grab him and storm out of the house even if it meant leaping from the window, which told Itachi much more about the situation than the vampire probably wanted to reveal.

Chloe’s grandmother ignored his noise. “I am the matriarch of the Engel clan,” she told Itachi. “You came here for a spell from my granddaughter. Do you not trust your vampire, the Master of the City, to protect you?”

Deidara made another angry noise, but Itachi spoke over him with a slight smile. “No, Ma’am, but it isn’t his job to protect me. I am not one of Deidara’s humans, we are equals… I want to protect him as well. I don’t have the strength of a vampire or the magic of a great witch family. But I will do what I can to protect what is mine.” Deidara’s anger sputtered down slightly, happy with his words.

The woman on the bed looked slightly pleased with his response and gave a sharp nod. “As do we, Itachi. Your vampire does not trust us because we work hard to protect our families, and some of our sister and brother clans become addicted to the power magic holds.”

“I have seen people who are addicted to power,” Itachi told her as Deidara began fidgeting next to him, never one to stay still and silent for long periods of time.

 _‘Witches gain power through the pain and blood of others,’_ Deidara’s voice sounded in his mind, repeating his earlier words. _‘How does someone like her get so much power without it? It doesn’t make sense, un!’_

 _‘She must be very strong if she scares you,’_ Itachi replied, unable to hold the grin off his face while Deidara openly spluttered in indignation. “Sorry,” Itachi apologized to the two witches watching them in confusion, not understanding Deidara’s sudden reaction. “Our connection allows us to talk mind-to-mind…” He paused, considering the deceptively frail looking woman who gave the air that she was allowing him to do so. A leader, but also a grandmother in the most ancient role grandmothers had: teachers, the center of a family unit. He decided not to retain his love of learning, not ashamed of not knowing something and asking questions. “Deidara is only apprehensive because he doesn’t understand you,” he told her, ignoring his other half that was mentally telling him to shush. “Because you are such a strong matriarch, for not using others’ pain and blood and yet being so strong… To be so powerful, but able to raise someone as kind and gentle as Chloe… You are formidable, but also very impressive, _oma_.”

The woman stared at him, looking taken aback by being addressed as such, but also rather pleased. She glanced at Chloe, who was smiling at Itachi fondly. “That may be so, but my secrets are mine. Now, I am tired,” she said, closing her eyes and leaning back on her pillow. “You may go.”

Itachi’s eyes darted to Deidara, then to Chloe, worried he had said something wrong, but the younger witch was smiling as she gestured him towards the door. The vampire left immediately, but Itachi paused to give the woman on the bed a respectful bow before following. “She likes you, Itachi,” Chloe told him after closing the bedroom door. 

“Does she?” he asked, a little nervously. 

“Oh, yes,” she replied. “You flattered her, and I think all grandmother’s like adopting new grandchildren.” She gave a light laugh then gestured to the stairs again, “please, come with me.”

Deidara was glaring daggers at him as they descended the stairs again to follow Chloe deeper into the house, which was much homelier than Deidara’s castle, showing signs that it had housed generations of the family before. Itachi was sure the blond was going to give him an earful the moment they were outside of the house. He didn’t see anyone else, but sensed that there were others in the house as well, aware of their presence as strangers – though that might have been from Deidara’s senses. It was hard to tell when it was his ability to sense things around him and what was gifted to him from Deidara. The room Chloe led them to was very similar to her store in the center of town – shelves and shelves of jars, boxes, trinkets, potted plants covered much of the flat surfaces, while herbs and flowers hung from the ceiling to dry. Deidara wrinkled his nose at the onset of smells, but Itachi liked its complexity and breathed in deeply.

“So,” she said in a business-like manner as she picked up a small wooden box sitting on the desk. “These are the two spells you asked for… They are in the form of bags, and there are two bags in here. You must place each within the room, hidden – like in the wall or floor if possible – so they cannot be easily found and removed. There are two strings that ties each bag closed. Take one and make a bow, then nail the bow above the inside of the door to the room you want to protect.”

“That’s it?” Itachi asked, trying not to sound dubious about the freeform of magic which never seemed to follow simple logic. “How does it know where to make the barrier?”

“Magic doesn’t think,” she said, not unkindly. “This spell is part of you and will recognize walls and spaces that belong to you as you do. Hallways are as neutral as crossroads, so it won’t leak into the rest of the house.”

Itachi did know how the spell was a part of him, because he had given her pieces of his hair to use in the spell that would mimic the much larger barrier that guarded the castle from intruders. Last year, anyone who belonged to Deidara could invite guests onto the grounds, but Kit, the human woman who had been with Deidara the longest, had invited the Shadow Hunters onto the grounds in an attempt to get rid of Itachi who she felt was receiving undeserved attention from the blond. Shadow Hunters were secretive, semimagical humans who hated paranormal creatures and sought to put an end to those who presented a danger to normal humans. One of the reasons the barrier around the castle was so important was because it created a safe place for the local pack of werewolves to raise their only remaining pup after a few zealot Shadow Hunters had murdered the others. The Shadow Hunters hated Deidara in particular because Itachi, though raised by normal humans, had been born to a Shadow Hunter family who had been killed by a demon. Until the year before, it had been thought that the Uchiha clan had been dealing with demons to gain power and it had gone wrong, but Itachi had discovered that they had been double crossed by the Shadow Hunter’s Mage Council for attempting to find common ground between themselves and the paranormal. Like his family, the Shadow Hunters had wanted to put an end to the union of their souls, which represented a peace the Shadow Hunters didn’t want, and keep Itachi for themselves. The two had barely escaped from the Shadow Hunters and Kit had been killed by Deidara’s Maker, Sasori. After they had returned home, Deidara had changed the conditions of the spell so only himself – and Itachi by relation – could invite people onto the grounds. It made life a little more annoying because it used to be up to others to bring visitors to Deidara, who was the Master of the City, the head vampire, but in the tunnel vision of a betrayed child, Deidara refused to pass the duties onto others.

“How do I allow and stop people from entering the spaces?” Itachi asked.

“Words,” Chloe replied with a smile. “The most powerful magic. Intention will follow.” She paused in thought. “I would not install the one for the library just yet. Keep it inside the wooden box in your bedroom so it learns to recognize you… libraries are typically public spaces, so it may not work as well until it becomes used to you.”

“Creepy.”

Chloe’s gentle eyes fixed on Deidara and she gave a small sigh. “Deidara, it is childish and selfish of you to condemn what is a part of me, my family, and my life except when you need it.” It was the first time in the year he had known her to lose the natural gentleness in her tone. Deidara didn’t respond, mostly, Itachi assumed, because he could feel that Itachi thoroughly agreed with her and was annoyed about it. “My family was stolen from our homeland when slavery was still legal in Europe,” Chloe continued. “We were treated like animals, but we brought our magic and history with us. Other witches use blood magic to gain power, my family brought our power with us to continue our strength without using other’s pain. Our matriarchs rely on that to hold power, not blood magic.”

“And being a terrifying grandmother, un.”

“That also helps,” she agreed with a wider smile, that turned sad very quickly. “But she is old now and growing very weak. Witches generally live very long and retain our youthfulness, but we eventually grow too old… I think something other than old age is wrong with my _oma_ , but she won’t allow us to examine her more.”

“I’m sorry,” Itachi said sincerely and she smiled again in a grateful way.

Several moments later, Deidara was stalking behind him on the way to the car, breathing down his neck. The driver spotted them approaching and started the car, but Itachi stopped short and it was only his vampiric speed that allowed the blond to dodge away from running into him. He opened his mouth to begin the onslaught of scolding he had been preparing, but Itachi expression when he turned to face him made him stop. “What?” he demanded defensively instead.

“You shouldn’t be so rude to Chloe,” Itachi told him sternly. “You can dislike or be cautious around something without being rude. Chloe has never done anything to you, but you were so mean to her. Her grandmother is sick and you won’t even pretend to be sympathetic. She’s only patient with you because she knows you can’t always help your temper, but I will stop letting you come with me if you’re going to be rude to people I consider my friend.”

“Witches are dangerous, un!” Deidara insisted, but it was with more of a pout than anything aggressive, unhappy that Itachi was scolding him. His arms folded tightly and he hunched his shoulders up to his ears.

“So are vampires, but Chloe is always polite to you.”

Deidara seemed to consider this while they got into the car, but Itachi could tell he was still mad because he stayed on his side of the car instead of sliding over to nearly sit on Itachi’s lap like he usually did. It wasn’t Deidara’s fault, Itachi knew, but sometimes dealing with a Child Vampire was difficult. No matter what Deidara had witnessed in his three hundred some years as a vampire, he saw everything from the eyes of the fifteen-year-old boy he had been before he was changed. “Chloe’s grandmother is dying,” he stated after a long moment of silence. It was an attempt at deter him from scolding him anymore. “I could smell it on her. Chloe’s mother is next in line to rule the coven. I hope she’s a good one.”

“How long do witches usually live?” Itachi asked curiously. 

“I dunno…. Two hundred years or so, I think,” Deidara replied in a tone that said he wasn’t interested at all in this conversation.

“Anita Engel is one hundred and fifty-three,” the driver commented suddenly and Itachi stared. It was so rare that the humans belonging to the other vampires and employed by the castle spoke to the two of them that Itachi sometimes forgot they were there. Humans often avoided vampires other than their own. “The matriarch before her died when she was over two hundred and thirty, so if she is dying, she is quite young to be doing so…”

“Oh, I see,” Itachi replied, feeling awkward. “Thank you.”

“I still don’t see why you need that, un,” Deidara commented darkly, glaring at the box in Itachi’s lap.

“It would make the house safer,” Itachi said shortly. This was also becoming an old argument. He didn’t want to feel unsafe at home ever again; and it was logical to have even safer pockets for the werewolf children, himself and anyone who couldn’t protect himself if the outer barrier was breeched again. “And it would be good for you, too. If something happens or someone sends their human to hurt you during your Suntim—”

“Where do you want to go on vacation, un?” Deidara interrupted, turning his head to look stubbornly out the window. “You said you wanted to stay home a while and we did, so?” He could see him trying to still look annoyed, but there was hopeful tension about him.

Itachi sighed. “I don’t really want to go anywhere,” he told him, “but if we do, I’d like to go somewhere relaxing and interesting to look at.”

The blond, who had continued to pointedly Not Look at him as if it was some form of punishment, suddenly jerked his head towards him so fast, Itachi was surprised he didn’t get whiplash. His eyes were wide and delighted. Itachi didn’t enjoy traveling as much as Deidara did and this was the first time in that Itachi had made any type of indication that he would be willing. “I have a list!” he told him eagerly. 

“A list?” Itachi asked, much less enthusiastically.

“Yeah!” Deidara said, finally sliding to the middle seat, all trouble with the witches forgotten. He drew his feet up on the seat and threw his arms out. “We can go to America to see the fireworks on July Fourth! And Sydney on New Years! And Montreal to see the fireworks contest! And—”

“Is everything on your list places you want to see fireworks?” Itachi interrupted him sardonically. 

“Don’t you want to see them?” Deidara asked, looking confused.

“Well…” Itachi began delicately. “I’d like to see other things… food, museums, and stuff…”

“Museums?” Deidara asked, looking slightly mortified.

His reaction made Itachi smile in amusement. “Yes, or somewhere interesting with a lot of history.”

Deidara’s expression was slightly pained. “You’re so boring, un...”

“I know.” They had arrived at the house and climbed out after thanking the driver. As they approached the main door, Itachi’s phone rang – not his chosen ring tone. “Did you change my ring tone again?” he asked Deidara who grinned with suspicious innocence. The screen displayed Chloe’s name and cellphone number she had given him before he left. Frowning, he answered it. “Hello?”

“Do you dream?” came a voice that wasn’t Chloe’s.

“What?” he asked, stopping with one foot on the steps. “Who is this?”

“Do you dream?” the voice asked again. After a moment’s thought, he realized it was Priscilla.

“Yes…” he answered, more confused now. “Priscilla, what is it?”

“About the storm?” Itachi blinked and his stomach gave a slight lurch as though he missed a step, but didn’t answer. “I do, too,” she murmured before the line went dead.

Itachi stared at Deidara, who had stopped to listen – there were no private conversations around vampires. “That girl is nuts,” Deidara declared, folding his arms and turned to walk into the castle. Itachi followed, his anxiety not quelled as easily as Deidara’s.


	3. Blood Magic

The following week was not fun for Deidara.

With the unexpected permission from Itachi, he had begun to plot in earnest a vacation for the two of them to take together, but was constantly thwarted by Belle and Markus, who kept trying to get him to do what they called ‘necessary duties’ and he considered ‘unreasonable chores’. Belle was his second in command, a French woman whose age he had never bothered to ask; she didn’t mind his childish excursions so long as she could remain in her comfortable life. Markus on the other hand had a different view of things and felt Deidara should either accept his position as Master of the City, the title given to the vampire who ruled an area, or give it up. However, like Belle, he liked the comfortable life he had and wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize it. Both were adamant that, if anything, he had to stop putting off obtaining another human. He didn’t feel he needed another human, per se, because his connection to Itachi made him need the others less than a normal vampire needed their humans, but it would make things a bit easier on them and Sam needed a new friend.

Itachi continual insistence that friends couldn’t just be replaced was one of the things stalling him. Sam had been very close with Kit before Sasori killed her for her betrayal. Kit had been the one who had helped Sam recover from the traumatic experience she had suffered before Deidara had found and rescued her from another vampire. The addition to Jack, another American, had also helped, but Jack was studying film in France and couldn’t come home – though the two of them spoke a lot during the day and even regularly watched movies together online. She was pretending to be okay, Deidara could sense that, but couldn’t understand why the solution wasn’t to just simply acquire her a new friend.

He also needed a new accountant, which was the other thing that kept thwarting his plans because Kit had been the one who not only handled the inflow of money, but also managed investments and paid off bills and often helped him plan trips. Money was not something he cared about, and there was a bit of an awkward time when they all realized that Deidara didn’t even know the passwords to access his own bank accounts and had to spend grueling hours on the phone with the banks to get everything sorted – though new hassles kept cropping up. At least Itachi had a good memory for passwords.

He hated work.

What was the point of anything if you couldn’t have fun?

What was the point of living forever if you had to spend it doing mundane things?

He could feel disapproving eyes on him while he played a game of soccer with some of the Danish werewolves. There was supposed to be a council meeting tonight, but Itachi was asleep and couldn’t go for him so he was now playing hooky.

A sudden feeling distracted him and he slipped on the wet grass and fell spectacularly. The woman who had been challenging him for the ball stopped her dribbling and came over, trying to hide her amusement.

“What happened, you okay?” she asked in her broken German.

“Yeah,” he replied, sitting up and looking up at a different part of the castle. Itachi had just jerked awake in his room from a nightmare. He wanted to run up to his room, but knew his human was irritated at his constant worrying over him. His least favorite benefit of their shared souls was that Itachi sometimes dreamed his own memories, which were not all fun.

Standing slowly, he dusted himself off and debating ignoring what he had felt. _‘I’m fine,’_ came Itachi’s voice. _‘Just a bad dream.’_

_‘What about?’_

Silence for a moment. _‘Witches,’_ came the soft response. _‘A long time ago… they came for Sasori, I think… because of… something. I don’t remember, but you were there.’_

Deidara didn’t respond, feeling grimly unhappy that Itachi had to be subjected to his bad memories when he was sleeping. Especially ones he couldn’t remember details of. He wanted to say something, reminding his human that witches were dangerous, but Itachi spoke before he could.

 _‘What are you doing outside? Isn’t there a meeting tonight?’_ a scolding tone, Deidara made a guilty face though Itachi couldn’t see and casually tried to rejoin the game that had continued while he stood around. _‘I know it’s not over yet, why are you playing?’_

 _‘Didn’t wanna go, un,’_ Deidara grumbled, then stopped again so suddenly that he was plowed over by another werewolf.

“Deidara, are you gonna play or not?” they asked, not containing their amusement now.

“Sorry,” he said apologetically and stomped back towards the castle, telling Itachi to go back to sleep and not to go to the meeting in his place. It was a stupid meeting about something that only might happen, not had happened, but Itachi was already pulling his clothes on to head to the meeting for him. 

“Itachi—”

“Deidara, you really are childish for making your human do all your work for you,” came Markus’ sardonic tone as he rushed into the meeting room only a few seconds after Itachi. “Did you only make him your Human Servant so you could play more?”

“Please don’t call me that,” Itachi said calmly, tying his hair back off his face. “And I don’t mind; I enjoy working.”

“You should be sleeping, un,” Deidara growled.

“And you could have had this done over an hour ago if you had come when the meeting was supposed to take place,” Belle said, a smile on her face.

Deidara glared at her and threw himself down onto his seat with his arms and legs crossed tightly. Itachi sat down quietly at his side, only looking slightly rumpled from having just woken up. “I just don’t see the point in debating this,” Deidara said before anyone could speak. “Anita Engel hasn’t died yet, and her daughter has always been uninterested in the happenings of other creatures, so why worry about her before we have to?”

“We need to be prepared for trouble,” Markus countered, his blue eyes narrowing at him. “Our position is weak because you’ve angered the Shadow Hunters and spread alliances very thin instead of strengthening—”

“I disagree,” Itachi interrupted in a soft voice that nonetheless quieted the man. “Having strong allies isn’t a weakness. All of us would have been in great danger if we didn’t have the werewolves and witches to help us when the Shadow Hunters attacked. During the day, vampires are useless. It is the same in the human world,” he stated, his face growing slightly pinched in the way it did when Itachi was annoyed about something – Deidara loved when that face wasn’t directed at himself. “Countries that form alliances are strong, everyone benefits. Countries that insist on taking care of things themselves only give the appearance of being strong while those within suffer. There is nothing wrong with Deidara making—attempting to make – friends with others.”

 _‘Hey,’_ Deidara whined unhappily. 

“Then what do you propose?” Markus asked, not very kindly to Itachi.

“When Chloe’s mother comes to power, we should extend the same hand of friendship to her,” Itachi replied, finally reaching up to rub his eyes, not fazed by Markus’ rudeness. “Not just believe that the alliances will remain… I haven’t met Chloe’s mother, though… what’s she like?” he asked Deidara.

“She’s a bit like Chloe’s cousin, Mesi… you know, kind of intense and sometimes snarky,” Deidara mumbled, slouching in his chair. Itachi gave a slight grimace next to him. Though Priscilla made him uneasy, Mesi was the witch cousin that thoroughly made Itachi uncomfortable. Loud and aggressive, Mesi enjoyed making others uncomfortable and wasn’t beyond trying to place spells on people when they weren’t paying attention just to see if she could. “I haven’t met her face-to-face, but I’ve seen her and heard her.”

The meeting lasted longer than he would have liked, but he stayed because he felt guilty for making Itachi get out of bed to go in his place. With both of them there, discussions of other important things came up and though Deidara could feel how tired he was, Itachi didn’t show it except for a few heavier sighs and a few rubs of his eyes. The subject of the best tokens of friendship to be offered to the witches came up again. Markus was insistent that it couldn’t be some sort of pledge that would place the witches in a higher position of power than they. Belle gave a thoughtful incline of her head to indicate her agreement. The topic droned on and on and Deidara began day dreaming about games he could play when the meeting was over. Maybe something Itachi would play with him, though his human seemed to enjoy games such as chess and go – anything that required planning and thought. He never played sports with Deidara unless there were others involved that evened the odds.

“He’s daydreaming, not listening,” came Itachi’s voice from a long way away. Everyone was staring at him as he dropped his attention back to the table, but Itachi continued smoothly, “we may be traveling this year, but no date has been set; and if Chloe’s grandmother really is so close to death, we will be waiting until the matter is completely settled down at least… Is there anything else?”

“Not for now,” came the general murmur.

“Great!” Deidara cried, clapping his hands and hopping up to his feet. “Class dismissed.”

“Let’s play a game!” he said to Itachi as he dragged his human out of the room.

Itachi yawned widely in response. “No, thanks… I’m going to go back to sleep.”

“Deidara!” called Sam’s voice from around the corner they had just passed before Deidara could suggest joining him. “You have a phone call,” she said as she hurried up to the two of them with her cellphone in her hand. “You really should carry your phone around with you, you know,” she chided with a wink as she handed it over. “Hey, Itachi… you look really tired.”

The brunette gave another yawn and smiled at her. “I only slept an hour or so,” he told her in English, sliding his hands into the pockets of the light hoodie he had put on. Itachi always practiced his English with Sam who said she found it relaxing to not have to think in her second language before speaking. “I’m going back to—” he stopped and looked sharply over at Deidara.

“I understand,” Deidara said, hanging up and handing the phone back to Sam looking grim. “Anita Engel died,” he said boldly. “Two days ago, apparently, but they kept it secret. I’ve been invited to meet her successor at her wake. That stupid meeting was for nothing and I guess I’ll just wing it spectacularly as always, un.”

“Oh, that’s horrible,” Sam said, her cheerful expression falling at once. “How’s Chloe?”

“I dunno,” Deidara replied with a shrug. “It wasn’t Chloe,” he said defensively at their frowns. “It was a vampire in the city, un.”

“I’m going with you,” Itachi said, looking more awake now. “I’m going to shower and change.”

“What? No—”

“Me, too,” Sam said, just as firmly as Itachi and the two actually turned and began walking back to their bedrooms.

“Hang on, no!” Deidara said, hurrying after them and planted himself in front of them. It wasn’t a very impressive move since the two of them were much taller than himself. They simply parted to walk around him and he had to repeat the gesture. “You can’t go to that house! It’s too dangerous, un!”

“Yeah?” Sam said in a challenging manner. “My friend just lost her grandmother; do you really think you can stop me?”

Deidara started to say that yes, of course he could stop her, but Itachi spoke up. “I agree,” he stated, and the two of them left him standing alone in the hallway, knowing that if he left them on his own, they’d go anyway. The thought of Itachi going made him want to refuse the invitation entirely, and he wished he hadn’t said anything aloud, though if Itachi found out later and realized that he already knew and hadn’t told him, he’d be furious. The thought of Itachi, who he was so fond of, being furious with him made his shoulders slump. Itachi never liked when Deidara displayed his lack of normal levels of humanity, so he stomped outside to prove he did have a decent sense of humanity while he waited for the two humans to come down.

Sam drove them back to the villa after she and Itachi mused together that they didn’t know where the witches would be while Deidara sat brooding in the back seat. Their decision was correct. The front gardens were lit by many fairy lights and there were a lot of people mingling and talking quietly, their voices making a soft buzz of noise that spilled into the street. This time the gate offered no resistance as Deidara stepped through, which he was happy about because he did not like the compressed feeling the gate had given him last week. He kept a firm hand on the back of Itachi’s jacket and a close eye on Sam, eyes staring down any witch that glanced their way. He smelled Chloe before she appeared before them, dressed in white with her eyes somber and a little red.

“Oh, Chloe, I’m so sorry,” Sam burst out, throwing her arms around the witch.

“Thank you,” came the murmured response, giving her a light hug in return.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Itachi said, looking somber himself, but also awkward – hoping that she didn’t expect him to hug her as well. Itachi wasn’t much of a hugger.

“Thank you for coming, Itachi,” she told him as Sam let go. “It means a lot to me.”

Her eyes drifted to Deidara and he stuck out his handful of flowers he had picked, feeling both awkward and pleased with himself for thinking of the gesture. “I’m sorry you’re sad, un,” he said stoutly.

Chloe stared down at the yellow dandelions, buttercups, and clover and gave a sudden laugh that sounded as if she hadn’t done so in many days. “Thank you, Deidara, that is very sweet,” she said, taking the flowers. “Please come into the house. You can meet my mother and I will put these in a vase.”

Filled with confusion at her laugh, he stared after her. _‘What’s funny?’_ he asked Itachi through their connection.

“That was a very cute attempt, Deidara,” Sam said, giving his cheek a little tweak as if he were a much smaller child.

“Was it wrong?” he asked, thoroughly confused.

“They wouldn’t have been my first choice of flowers to give someone at a funeral,” Sam answered brightly, looping her arm around his as they mounted the porch stairs and entered the crowded home. There were many eyes on them, the only non-witches in the house. All were wearing shades of white, looking somber. 

“Hello,” purred a voice from behind them. Deidara gave the witch a nasty, warning look as Mesi came over to slide her arm around Itachi’s, who stiffened slightly, but didn’t pull away. “It’s so nice of you to come,” she added, speaking more to Itachi than the others, giving a practiced flick of her head to toss her kinky black hair off her face.

“I’m sorry about your … grandmother,” Itachi said, unsure of the exact word relation to use.

“Grandmother,” Mesi assured him. “In our covens, older women are either aunts or _oma_. I’m so very sad; want to have a drink with me to cheer me—stop growling at me, Deidara!” The sugar in her voice vanished.

“I’m fine, thank you,” Itachi said in a hurried voice Deidara was sure was an attempt to keep the peace. “We’re here to pay our respects and meet Chloe’s mother. Do you know where she is? We haven’t been introduced before…”

“She’s over there,” Mesi said, pointing with her chin, though she was still leaning on Itachi’s arm. “I’ll introduce you if you’ll have a drink with me.”

Deidara followed her gesture to a woman standing near a beautifully carved fireplace and knew her to be the Power here, not only because she looked so much like Chloe, but because of the way her attention had been focused on himself since he stepped in, a possible threat in her home. Ignoring Mesi, he walked up to her. She was tall with brown skin and hazel eyes, her braided hair had beads worked into them made from wood and bone carved into the shape of flowers and stars. Her head held a headdress made from white antlers draped in sheer fabric and pearls. Her gaze was imperious, though not as intimidating as her mother’s. Yet.

“Hello, Deidara,” she said, her voice deeper than he expected. “I apologize for not meeting with you before now. I am Sonja Engel.”

Deidara opened his mouth to say something, possible snarky, but Itachi gave a sharp, warning nudge through their connection, aware of him though he was still with Mesi. “Sorry for your loss,” he said instead, trying to mimic his humans’ sympathetic tones, which was difficult with all the room’s attention on him, obvious or not. He had wished he had brought more flowers, but the others amusement at his expense changed his mind.

“Thank you,” she said, her expression growing a little stiff as if she was working to keep her face neutral. “Chloe said you were young, but I admit, I didn’t expect you to be this young…”

“I’m not young,” Deidara commented dryly.

“I meant when you were changed,” Sonja Engel replied. The witch she had been speaking to before he approached took a step away from them, pretending to cast his eyes across the window, though Deidara could tell the man was listening closely. “That would explain why you gave weeds to my daughter.”

He frowned, confusion rising again. “They’re flowers, un,” he stated.

“Yes, but they are a gift a child would give to mimic the actions of adults.” He couldn’t tell if she was making fun of him or not.

“They smell nice,” he added defensively, still not understanding. “They’re a nice color.”

“Mesi!” Sonja Engel suddenly called in a stern voice. “Do not do that to our guests.”

Deidara whipped around, but couldn’t see what the girl had done, though Itachi had moved away from her and was holding his hand out expectantly with a stern frown. Mesi gave a pout and pulled something invisible from Itachi’s outstretched hand, then sulked away. Itachi approached them with Sam and Deidara stared unhappily at the hand his other half was rubbing against his dark pants.

“My apologies,” Sonja Engel said to him regally. “Mesi delights in attempting to sneak spells onto people to see if she can do it without getting caught. You must be Itachi. My daughter as told me a lot about you. I am Sonja, Chloe’s mother.”

“It’s nice to meet you, though I wish the circumstances were different,” Itachi said, taking her offered hand. “I was only able to meet your mother once, but she was very impressionable.”

“Indeed she was,” the witch said with a smile like Chloe’s. “You have come for Chloe’s sake and for that I am very grateful.”

“Your headdress is beautiful,” Sam said softly, gazing up at her in slight awe. “Sorry, we… we didn’t know we were supposed to wear white,” she added, plucking nervously at her black dress. Deidara cast his eyes around, noting again how everyone was wearing white and only Itachi and Sam wore black.

“That’s quite alright,” she said. “I understand human traditions. We witches consider death an end, but also a beginning of a new cycle, so we wear white to start over.” Her smile widened in a fixed sort of way again and her eyes cast downward to run up Deidara’s body from his muddy and torn clothes he had been wearing to play soccer. Itachi’s disapproving look when they met at Sam’s car finally explained.

“I… er…”

“We made him rush over when we heard,” Sam said in his defense. “How is Chloe?”

At this, the tall woman seemed to lose some of her straight backed, regal demeanor. “She is mourning as we all are,” she said in a more personable tone. “She and my mother were very fond of each other… and my mother was a very good leader for us, sacrificing much to keep us safe.”

Deidara glanced over at Itachi who was giving him a look that begged him to be tactful, which Deidara didn’t really know what that meant. “My vampires wanted me to give you a present to make you like me, un,” he said with a mischievous grin at the look Markus would have if he heard Deidara being so obvious.

She considered him a moment, then gave a slight laugh. “I see,” she replied quietly. “Tell me something, Deidara. Why do you want to be allied with witches?”

“We’re stronger with allies,” Deidara replied, mimicking Itachi’s words.

“That is true,” she commented, lifting a glass of wine from its place of rest on the mantle, “but aren’t witches helping you more than you held us? Except financially.”

Deidara scowled a little. He had perhaps, not done anything recently for the witch clan and smaller covens that lived in the surrounding areas, but when he had first arrived here, the Master of the City had thoroughly enjoyed witch hunting and he had put an end to it and the Master. He had originally suggested the alliance in spite towards Sasori, who hated witches as a rule, but would never give him a satisfactory answer as to why he hated them. Before he could think of a snarky comment, a commotion distracted him. Sonja Engel tensed slightly as Chloe, Priscilla, and a few others came hurrying into the room. Chloe’s eyes were wide and seemed to be conveying things to her mother as she entered, and Priscilla clutched her white shawl closer and went to stand in the corner. Mesi returned to Itachi’s side and dragged him out of the large living room to another room divided by a large open archway. Deidara followed to tell her to leave Itachi alone, but she pushed him behind her with Itachi and stood in front of him defensively and, across the room, Chloe gave her cousin a grateful nod as she gently pushed Sam behind her protectively. Itachi and Deidara exchanged confused expressions as another woman stepped through the front door, drawing everyone’s eye.

She was not a stall as Sonja Engle, but her caramel colored skin and hazel eyes were so similar, Deidara assumed they were more closely related than cousins. Like Itachi and Sam, she wore all black highlighted with gold, a long satin and lace dress and a small hat perched on her shining hair, a black veil hanging down her back. Her makeup was bright, colors smudged on her eyes and gold on her skin that looked like war paint. Her arms were covered in long gloves and her hands clasped before her in a posture of solemnness that didn’t entirely reach her eyes. Next to Deidara, Itachi shifted nervously, alerting Deidara that not all was well.

“Sonja!” the newcomer cried woefully. “Such a horrible thing…”

“What are you doing here?” Sonja asked, her mouth barely moving.

“How can you ask me that?” the woman asked in an injured voice. “She was my mother, too.”

“You were told not to retur—”

“Is that little Chloe?” the woman interrupted, holding her hands out affectionately. “You were such a little girl the last time I saw you.”

“Hello, Tante Teresa,” Chloe said softly.

“Teresa—”

“It is so nice to be back in this house,” the woman said, looking around the room at everyone staring at her while giving her a berth as though they thought she carried some contagious disease. “So many memories… The last time I was here, we were decorating for the midsummer festival… ah the house was so beautiful. But why,” she stopped and pointed a very aggressive finger, “is there a vampire and a Shadow Hunter in my house?”

“They are guests,” Chloe stated shortly.

“Your house?” Sonja demanded over her, recovering from her shock. “It is yours no longer. Mother forbid you from returning.”

“Mother is gone,” the woman replied, her eyes lingering hungrily on Itachi. “I am here to pay my respects to my beloved mother and to claim my place.”

“Your place?” Sonja repeated her again, anger rising palpably in the air. “You have been cast out of our family, sister. You do not have a place to claim in this matriarchy.”

“We are sisters, I had thought you had forgotten,” the witch said to her her in a delicate voice with a sweet smile that looked nasty. “It has always been the strongest who leads and protects our family.”

“You do blood magic, Teresa,” Sonja spat out. “A practice that has no place in our family.”

“Do you really believe mother has never used blood magic to be as strong as she was?” the woman laughed derisively. “Mother lied to you, Sonja.”

“Anita didn’t use blood magic,” someone in the crowd whispered in audible anger.

“She did,” the new witch said, the sweet singing tone in her voice made her smile seem even meaner. “The grimoire is a lie, Sonja. Mother never had it. It was stolen from auntie and mother knew she wasn’t strong enough on her own and she wanted to remain in power.”

Deidara’s eyes narrowed, listening closely as the two women argued before their audience. The woman did smell strongly of death magic, the smell of suffering lingered in the stores of magic she kept on her. Next to him, Itachi was still shifting restlessly, sensing the danger before him, but wondered if he was processing everything carefully. He also wondered how he easily he could get Itachi and Sam out of the room to safety. He wondered what grimoire she was talking about and also why, if Anita Engel used blood magic like this new witch declared, he hadn’t smelled it on her. Deidara never trusted her, she was too strong to not have used blood magic, but she never smelled of the type of magic that clung to witches who used such magic. It hung over this witch like a plague.

“Why is there a Shadow Hunter in my house?” the woman turned towards Itachi and took a step closer. She didn’t take another when Deidara began growling at her, but Mesi gripped Itachi’s arm and he smelled the sudden tang of her magic swelling suddenly.

“Itachi is a human belonging to Deidara, the Master of the City,” Sonja said with cool authority. “He is also a friend of Chloe and has been invited into this house.”

“Deidara,” the woman said, her eyes finally moving away from Itachi to look at him. “Child Vampire Made by a Child Vampire… it’s amazing you haven’t been put down by the vampire council yet.”

He sneered at her, but before he could reply to her, she turned to address the room of watching witches. “Family, you have not seen me in many years, perhaps you have forgotten my power, or have not heard of my growing strength. Shall I demonstrate how much I have grown in strength? How much stronger and safer I can make our coven than my baby sister who spent so much time studying away from home.”

The room remained silent, eyes shifting to exchange glances with one another.

“I have heard a story,” the witch’s voice began, in a carrying, storytelling tone, “of a little boy who was abandoned by those he cared for and then stolen from his homeland, dragged thousands of miles away from his home to be the abused pet of a vampire.” Her eyes returned to lock onto his; they weren’t hazel like Chloe’s but the deep brown like her late mother. He kept his eyes on her though knew not to look her directly in those eyes. A witch who practiced blood magic had many unsavory tricks. “And he changed you,” she continued, her voice growing soft and sympathetic, though still carrying, the power of her voice seductive, “aggressively, painfully, without asking. So selfish… So cruel. You don’t like being a vampire, do you, Deidara… would you like for me to turn you back into a human?”

Any thoughts of self-guard fell away and he stared openly at her, barely hearing the sudden increase of whispering in the house. She ignored all this murmuring and continued with a smile, “vampires were once human, were they not? Vampirism is just a disease, afflictions of the body. It isn’t like the werewolves who are born to their change. Witches can heal diseases, can we not? I could reverse this one, heal you… as a demonstration before these witnesses of my claim.”

Dumbfounded, he tried to grasp for something to say, but suddenly Itachi stepped forward. “No,” he said firmly, breaking the lure of her magic on him.

“It isn’t your offer to refuse, Shadow Hunter,” she growled in an entirely new voice.

“Yes, it is,” Itachi responded firmly. “You cannot do that.”

“I think you’ll find that I can.”

“It’s not a question of your ability.” He could feel Itachi wanted to step forward more, but Mesi was still holding his arm to keep him a safe distance away. “You may not do that. We came here as friends and allies, but you are a stranger and it would make Deidara vulnerable. We are here to pay our respects, not involve ourselves with family disputes.”

Her eyes narrowed and Deidara, though his mind was still reeling with the idea of becoming human again, did not like the expression on her face. “When did a Shadow Hunter become so caring towards vampires? I have only been gone for twenty years.”

Itachi didn’t answer her. Deidara wanted to say something, to refuse what Itachi had said. He wanted so badly to be human again, he had hated being a vampire since the first day. But he couldn’t say anything. Itachi was right, but still…

“You may not use us, or any of our household to prove your strength gained through other’s pain,” Itachi finally replied with the power Deidara held as Master of the city. It still sometimes shocked him when Itachi was able to pull from him like that. He was getting better at doing it at will with practicing.

“Then shall I test it on another?” she asked, her eyes brightening. “Demonstrate on the visitor?”

“There’s no visitor in our house, un,” Deidara said in confusion.

“There is.”

“Nobody can get through the barrier without my permission,” Deidara replied, his eyes drifting to Chloe who looked equally confused. “And I’d have felt it, un.”

“It is Nobody. A witchborn Nobody,” she closed her eyes and spoke in the tone Priscilla used. “The teller of stories. The one who can never be True Named. But I don’t need a True Name,” she said, opening her eyes with a sly smile. Her hand fingered a large black gem that had been decorating her chest then crushed it. The smell of anguish and a long, slow death filled the room in a way he could nearly hear the sound of the soul’s screams. “Go home and you will understand my power, and so then will my family. But, I am still curious still. The gates of this house are barred to vampires, even if they’re invited… How did you enter, Deidara? Answer!” Her voice boomed out with a command as strong as if his Maker had demanded it. He had to answer, even if it put Itachi in danger.

“No,” Itachi said, and the spell was broken.

She turned her full attention on Itachi now, rage building as strongly as her magic, the room suddenly smelling like ozone, but before she could say or do anything, Mesi had grabbed both Itachi and him in a firmer grip and twisted them sharply enough for him to feel Itachi wincing before the air compressed around them suffocating until the air popped like a balloon and they were outside on the street.

“Sam!” Itachi said in a panic, but Mesi appeared a moment later, clutching Sam, whose eyes were as wide as saucers. They stared at one another for a long moment before Itachi looked over at Mesi. “You can Disapparate?”

She gave a high, nervous laugh that didn’t sound like her usual tone at all. “So you finally read Harry Potter? We all have our specialties,” she said without waiting for his answer. “But go… hurry and go home. She can’t get through the barrier and this can get messy.”

“Why did you stop her, Itachi?” Deidara demanded, wanting badly to rush back into the house, but disoriented from being transported by magic. His humans had rushed to the car and tossed him into the backseat and when he was able to speak, Sam was driving white knuckled several blocks away from that house in as direct a line home as she could.

“That was so scary,” Sam murmured. “I don’t even know what was so scary about her, but I haven’t been that scared in … in…” she trailed off and Deidara understood. “She almost made Deidara answer her, didn’t she?”

“Yeah,” Itachi replied, breathing out slowly. 

“Why didn’t it work on you?” she asked.

“Magic doesn’t work very well on Shadow Hunters,” Itachi answered. “Kisame told me the best way of throwing it off is to remember it can’t hold you.”

“Good thing you were there,” she said, finally loosening her grip on the wheel. “We almost lost Dei. I mean … he doesn’t want to be a vampire anyway, but he’s normally not stupid enough to even consider putting himself in that position.”

“I’m right here, un.”

“Are you?” she snapped, her voice more aggressive than usual. Her skin had paled enough that her freckles stood out more noticeably. “You were going to let that witch do something to turn you back into a human without a second thought!”

“So?” he snapped back.

“So what about the consequences? What if they killed you? What if you suddenly started aging? What if she had to murder someone to do it?”

“I’ve killed people,” he shot back defensively, forgetting his distrust of witches and annoyed that he didn’t understand the issues if he could be human again.

“Yeah? And who do you think she’d use as a sacrifice to make that power? There was only one human in that house, Deidara,” she said angrily.

Silence filled the car except for the small intake of breath from Itachi. She would not have used another witch, and Itachi would have been protected by his status as a Shadow Hunter, though the Shadow Hunters were still engaged in civil war. Deidara relaxed back into his seat feeling slightly ashamed. “I’m sorry, Sam,” he mumbled.

“That’s quite alright,” she said coolly.

“What visitor was she talking about?” Itachi asked quietly.

“I don’t know, un … I wish the barrier came with a motion sensor camera or something instead of a little warning magical nudge when something tries to come through,” Deidara muttered, then climbed through the space between he chairs and wedged himself against Itachi. He didn’t know what to say, but he hoped that Itachi could tell how grateful he was that his human had stopped the new witch.

“That is not safe,” Itachi told him, but in an affectionate sort of way.

They pulled into the grounds, passing the empty circular courtyard where the grand front doors were, then down into the underground garage. “What visitor?” Sam asked again as they got out of the car and she looked around for a strange vehicle. “Maybe she was just talking out of her ass?”

They started through the house, Itachi heading to his library even though Deidara knew he wanted to go to bed. Maybe he wanted to update his secret-not-secret-from-Deidara file he was keeping on supernatural creatures as if he was going to one day write a book on them. Instead of following him, Deidara caught Sam’s sweater and gave it a tug. “I am sorry, Sam,” he said more apologetically, hunching his shoulders.

“That’s okay,” she said, giving him a smile. “You can’t help it if some crazy witch tempts you with black magic of your lifelong dream.”

He started to say something when realization suddenly struck him like the tide. It should have been obvious he hadn’t been so stupid. “Oh, no,” he gasped, turning on his heel and rushing down the hallway after Itachi. Stupid. Stupid, dumb vampire. He was better than this. Getting tripped up by a witch who practiced death magic. A newborn’s mistake.

He caught up with Itachi and gripped his arm. “No one can get through the barrier without us knowing except people who already live here,” he said, eyes wide.

“Yes, we know that,” Itachi said, looking confused.

“No one. Except one.”

Itachi stared at him for a moment, then they were both rushing down the hallway to the library as voices reached his sensitive ears. Yells of familiar voices burst out of Itachi’s favorite room as they threw the double doors of the library open. Inside was a crowd of his own vampires crowded around a smaller struggling figure while Rose yelled at them to stop, tugging at the waist of one them. Her fear was as pungent as the blood in the air.

“No one may enter this room of mine except for those whose bodies are younger than me,” Itachi called out suddenly, slapping his open palm on the frame of the door. A rush of magic filled the room just as it had in Itachi’s bedroom and the vampires were flung away, leaving them all staring open mouthed at Itachi in anger in the hallway.

“How dare you use magic against—”

“What the hell are you doing?” Deidara demanded of them. “Feeding on someone, on a—”

“Too tempting,” Markus gasped, licking the blood off his lips. “He would never have allowed us—How dare you bar us from–”

“This is Itachi’s room that I gave him when he first came here. Of course he can, un,” Deidara growled, storming to Itachi’s desk and grabbed a pen from it and slammed it through the little bow Itachi had pressed against the door to secure it and slammed the door in their faces.

“That was my favorite fountain pen,” Itachi said mournfully, looking up at the pen.

“Yeah, well, silver conducts magic very well,” he said, turning back to the room where Rose had backed away to clutch one of the heavy bookshelves, wanting to help, but still afraid. Her nightgown was covered in blood and a concerned sniff told him that it was not her own. She had tried to fight the vampires off their victim.

“Kill your vampires! How dare they!”

Deidara took another step forward before freezing to stare at the only person not living here who was capable of crossing the borders of his land. His brain would not register what his eyes were seeing, what his nose was smelling. The small body fought to its feet and stormed over to strike him in his fury. The flesh was soft as a pillow against his cold, dead skin and a yelp of pain filled the room and a stream of curses followed. “What has happened to me? What did you do?”

“I—I didn’t… It wasn’t… me…” Deidara stammered, staring at his Maker before him, clutching his hand and still bleeding arm while his honey brown eyes flashed angrily under a mop of red hair smelling entirely and wholly human.


	4. Witchborn

Itachi watched the small child pacing around the open area before the grand double doors of his library where the little bow was still nailed into the door frame by his silver tipped pen. Rose was sitting in his desk chair with her nightgown wrapped around her knees; he had been unable to persuade her into going back to bed because of the vampires who had remained outside the closed doors after Itachi had forced them out. Sasori was furious that Deidara hadn’t torn them all to pieces for attacking him right then and there, and had spent the better part of an hour yelling at the other child vampire and even though his Maker couldn’t physically hurt him, Deidara didn’t like the dark bruises that were blooming on the redheads hands and arms and had slunk away to the second floor so Sasori would stop trying to hit him. Observing Sasori was fascinating to Itachi – the way he had to keep shifting the way he was walking because he was used to different muscles, the way he kept blinking as if his eyes were too dry, and how he kept making sharp intakes of breath every so often. It occurred to him suddenly that he had forgotten to breathe normally.

“Sasori—”

“What?!” Sasori snapped, turning to face Itachi, rubbing his sore arms.

“Please sit down,” he said, sitting down himself on his stuffed rocking chair and made space for him to sit next to him.

“Why?” the redhead demanded, glaring at him.

“Because you’ve had a shock, and vampires attacked you, and you’re afraid, and you should sit down with me for a moment,” Itachi said gently. He ignored the flare of jealousy on Deidara’s end, indignant that he would offer what he considered snuggling to someone who both wasn’t him and someone who had threatened to kill Itachi, but was still hesitant to come down from his perch.

“And you want me to sit there like a child?” Sasori snapped viciously.

“Yes.”

“A helpless little child?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because you know I would never take advantage of your current weakness,” he replied softly. Rose shifted restlessly in the corner of his eyes, shifting to crouch lower so as to present a less threatening presence for Sasori.

There was a few long moments of silence as Sasori considered him, he began pacing again in storming silence before finally came over to sit down in the space Itachi provided, squirming a little to get comfortable until Itachi put his arm behind Sasori’s shoulders so they would fit better. The vampire—the boy—stiffened a little, but didn’t get back up. Itachi closed his eyes to endure Deidara’s grumbling about wanting to be the one sitting in the chair with him. Sasori’s feet didn’t reach the floor, so he drew them up and Itachi began to gently rock the chair.

“Rose,” Itachi called softly and waited while she came over, still trying to look as small as possible so she didn't look like a threat to Sasori. “I think you should go back to bed,” he told her gently. “Want me to call Kris for you? I think it’s her turn to stay over to guard you and the Denmark pack, right?”

“I don’t know,” she said, shifting a little. “I don’t want to bother her…”

Itachi looked up at Deidara and the blond gave a loud exasperated sigh. “Fine,” he said, climbing back down from the second floor though he gave the chair a wide berth. “I’ll make sure the baby monster doesn’t get harassed by the other monsters.” _‘And I'll text her parents, un.’_ Itachi nodded his gratitude. 

“Hey,” Rose protested on their way out the door. The two of them ignored the vampires waiting outside the door, as they stalked down the hall together. “I’m not a baby monster. I’m almost as tall as you!”

Smiling after them, Itachi gave a soft sigh and relaxed back into the chair, continuing to rock it rhythmically. “There was a witch who wanted to show off for the coven to gain control of it,” Itachi began softly, recounting everything that had happened at the Engel household, though he tried not to elaborate as much as Deidara might, concerned of what Sasori would make of this new player. Deidara returned twenty minutes later and sat down in a stuffed chair across from them as they lapsed into silence. Itachi was exhausted. He had intended to go straight to bed when he returned from Chloe’s, but now it was after four in the morning and he had only had an hour of sleep. He wanted to go to bed now, but didn’t know if it was alright to leave the two alone. He knew that some magic the change caused Made to have a connection with their Maker to not want to kill him, but he had no idea if Sasori’s current condition would alter that. He didn’t think Deidara would kill Sasori, though it presented him with the perfect opportunity to do so. Sasori also kept rubbing his eyes and shifting in an agitated manner that recalled a very old memory of another little boy and Itachi smiled and continued to rock the chair.

 _‘What do we do?’_ Deidara murmured in his mind. _‘I can’t believe they attacked him like that… I mean… well… I do. Sasori would never have let them drink his blood and he’s so old, so it’s really tempting, but …’_

 _‘I’m not sure… we should call Chloe when it’s daytime and find out what happened,’_ Itachi murmured back. _‘First, I have to sleep…’_

_‘Sorry I kept you up, un…’_

Itachi smiled at him to show that he understood and indicated with his head to the silent boy next to him who had finally stopped fidgeting. He watched Deidara look and start to his feet in alarm. “What’s wrong with him, un?” he asked. "Is he dead?"

“Shh…” Itachi murmured soothingly, holding his hand out. “It’s okay. He’s asleep.”

“Vampires can’t sleep,” Deidara insisted, coming closer to stare at him. He frowned and tilted his head slightly. “I mean… he smells human now, but… How is that possible? I never heard of a witch doing this to a vampire.”

“You know more about witches than I do,” Itachi admitted, “but before we speculate, I really need to go to bed, or both of us will be sleeping in this chair.”

He watched the vampire considering his Maker for a few moments then reach out with the hesitation of someone who has never held a baby before and lift Sasori from the chair and Itachi followed him into the cool and silent hallway to his own bedroom. Deidara put Sasori on the bed after Itachi had spoken to the empty room to allow the newcomer inside, still looking thoroughly perplexed as to what to do, but Itachi stopped him so that he could take the jacket and shoes Sasori had been wearing off before changing into his own sleeping clothes. Usually, with so much time left before the sun rose, Deidara would have slipped off to play more games before he had to hide away from the sun, but this time he climbed into bed with them.

“What?” he asked defensively when Itachi raised an amused eyebrow at him settling himself between them and the door. “I don’t trust that magic at all, un.”

“Even though you saw it work?” Itachi asked, resting his head back against his pillows.

“Especially since I saw it work, un!” he replied, looking over at the little twine bow above his door. “Things that are worked can be unworked right?”

“Maybe,” Itachi responded, heaving a sigh and closing his eyes. “Make sure he doesn’t stop breathing,” he added, rolling onto his side. It felt strange to have another breathing body in the bed with him, but he was so exhausted it didn’t take long for him to drift off to sleep.

Hours later he was awoken by Sasori sitting bolt upright with a gasping intake of breath and stared around the room in a panic. Deidara was still on the bed, but he was in his Suntime death and didn’t react to the way the redhead scrambled out from under the covers, disoriented from sleep. Itachi sat up, but was hesitant to reach out to touch him which felt like the natural response to calm someone down. The redhead’s eyes darted around the room, then down at Deidara and turned around again to stare owlishly at Itachi.

“You’re okay,” Itachi told him gently. “You’re in my room.”

“Obviously,” Sasori snapped, pulling his feet underneath his body, ready to move into action. “How did I get here?”

“We brought you after you fell asleep,” Itachi explained just as gently. Behind Sasori, Deidara had opened his eyes and was looking on warily, but remained silent. He watched Sasori bristle and held his hand out to stop his argument, “I know vampires don’t sleep, Sasori,” he said, “but you remember what happened yesterday?”

“Of course,” Sasori growled. “I’m not stupid.”

“Okay,” Itachi said, sliding over Deidara to get off the bed and slip into the bathroom. Even if Sasori was still a human, Itachi knew the boy was dangerous and though Sasori couldn’t hurt Deidara if he lashed out, his own skin was human as well. After a short shower, he stepped into his closet to dress, noting how Sasori had moved away from Deidara’s body and had pulled the blankets over his own shoulders again as if he were cold. “Sasori would you like something new to wear?” he asked when he reemerged.

“I’m fine!” Sasori snapped. “I want what was done to be undone!”

“Yes, I’m going to call Chloe after breakfast,” Itachi said.

“Do it now,” Sasori growled, standing up on the four-poster bed.

“No,” Itachi stated simply, sliding on his indoor shoes and walking out of the room. He heard Sasori yelling angrily after him, but didn’t stop to reply so him so the redhead tried to get Deidara to make Itachi do it but the blond seemed to be pretending he was unable to speak. He waited a moment and soon Sasori was rushing after him. Or he tried to. Itachi heard a loud thud and felt Deidara’s amusement shoot up as Sasori had attempted to use his old strength to leap to the door and had instead fallen off the bed spectacularly. Sasori stormed after him down the hallway without commenting on it.

“I insist that you call the witches,” Sasori snapped.

“I said I would after I eat,” Itachi said, preparing a few dishes to place on the large polished wooden table while he brewed coffee. He had been reading many books on nutrition and ensuring that feeding Deidara wouldn’t give him any long lasting health problems. He was enjoying eating fish for breakfast again and making tamagoyaki with spinach while boosting the meal with pickled vegetables and fruit. Sasori stood fuming in the door until Sam stumbled into him yawning widely.

“Oh, sorry!” she said good naturedly, then froze when she saw who she had run into. “Oh… Hi … Sasori…” She gave a nervous giggle then gave him a wide berth to enter the kitchen. “Can I have some coffee?” she asked Itachi.

Itachi smiled and poured her a cup while she started making herself some toast with her new favorite pumpernickel bread. “Sasori is going to be staying with us for a while, I think,” he said as sat down. “He came last night.”

Sam stared at him for a few moments, then her dark eyes widened and she leaned forward. “ _‘Visitor’_ ” she said in a loud whisper. “She said a visitor. Does that mean…?”

“Yes,” Itachi said softly. “Deidara’s unhappy because some of the other vampires attacked him when we arrived. Then he fell asleep in my chair last night.”

“Wait, like he actually _slept_? That’s craz—”

“At the moment, he’s growing impatient listening to you speak about him as if he’s not here,” Sasori snapped. “You can eat and call the witches at the same time.”

“You want them to break the spell?” Sam asked curiously, slathering her toast with honey. “Why? You can go outside, and you ca—…” she broke off at the look he was giving her and subtly shifted her chair closer to Itachi. “If you want to be a vampire again, you can ask Deidara to change you back into a vampire?”

“Do you know what I did to my Maker?” Sasori asked her, glaring harshly at her. “I killed them and I ate their heart. Do you want the same thing to happen to Deidara?”

Sam began to stammer a response, but Itachi held his hand out. “Sasori, don’t be aggressive towards either of us because you are upset,” he said firmly. “Neither of us are responsible for your predicament, and we are going to try to help you, but you don’t seem to be in trouble, or in pain, so please allow us to eat.”

“Not in pain—Look at my arms!” Sasori snapped, holding them up where the bruises lingered on them.

“Because you took your anger out on Deidara and tried to hurt him,” Itachi argued calmly. “That doesn’t suggest you should be pitied for being physically abusive when you’re angry.” He watched the redhead grit his teeth while clenching and releasing his fists several times and sighed softly. “Are you hungry, Sasori?”

“Are you offering yourself?” he growled.

“I’m not sure you’re able to drink blood right now, but I’m not sure how else the spell would affect your body and if you’ll be able to eat,” Itachi replied.

“I am a Master Vampire, I do not need to feed as much as younger vampires,” Sasori said snippy.

“You’re not a vampire anymore,” Itachi reminded him, gesturing towards the fridge. “Would you like to try anything?” He waited for a few long moments before Sasori stalked over to the table and threw himself down in the chair opposite of them with his arms tightly crossed. Itachi exchanged a look with Sam who put the rest of her toast into her mouth before getting up to make herself a real breakfast. 

Itachi was never really sure what Sasori was doing when he stared at people but knew better than to ask. The last time he had made that mistake, Sasori had informed him that he was staring at him because he was wondering how he would endure torture. He had every intention of calling Chloe, but he didn’t want to do it when Sasori was present. He was still worried that Sasori would stop being angry about the situation and begin his usual plotting. The thing Sasori wanted more than anything was to be able to feed on Deidara again. Prior to the change, Sasori had kept Deidara as a prisoner, tormenting and feeding on him for several long and torturous months. Deidara tasted entirely unique to Sasori, the most delicious thing he had ever fed from and when he had changed the blond into a vampire to keep him from running away again, he hadn’t known that Makers couldn’t feed from their Made. Over three hundred years later, he still hadn’t found something that satisfied his taste buds as Deidara had. If he could turn Deidara back into a human, Deidara’s life would be forfeit – not because Sasori would kill him, but because he would take his freedom away again. Itachi wondered sometimes if Sasori was jealous of Deidara for that; because Itachi tasted the same to Deidara, but the blond had found a way to keep him forever.

“Here you go, Sasori,” Sam said, setting a plate and glass in front of the redhead who stopped staring at Itachi and looked down a little startled. Sam gave Itachi a nervous half smile and brought her own plate to sit next to Itachi, as far from their guest as possible. She had made pancakes, but had arranged Sasori’s plate so that the small stack of pancakes looked like a bear’s face, using whipped cream and berries to add to the design. Next to the bear were star shaped pieces of toast with honey slathered on top, and in the glass was mango juice – the current house favorite.

The silence lengthened as Sasori continued to stare down at the plate, but finally he reached out to stick his finger into the whipped cream to taste it, then picked up the toast to bite it. Itachi and Sam exchanged another glance and Itachi didn’t need a mental connection with her to know that they were both wishing they had a camera.

 _‘Deidara,’_ Itachi called softly to his other half, inviting him to see through his own eyes for a moment so that the blond could see the scene as well. The blond was equally amused as Sasori took a sip of juice, then a bite of strawberries, seeming to consider each thing he had no memory of tasting.

“Sasori?”

The redhead grunted, eating the pancakes hungrily now with very poor manners and ignoring the fork and knife Sam had set down for him to use.

“Are you a witch?”

“What?” Sasori asked with an over stuffed mouthful of toast. He tried to swallow the whole thing and choked on it. After sputtering and coughing for a few seconds, in which Sam casually nudged his drink closer to him, he glared at the toast as if it had offended him and began licking off all the honey instead of taking another bite.

“When we were in the Engel house, the woman said that there was a ‘witchborn’ visitor in the castle,” Itachi told him, setting down his fork on his empty plate and picked up his coffee. “Maybe that’s why you can control people the way you do, or why the spell worked on you. I still have trouble imagining a spell strong enough to turn someone back into a human after they’ve been turned into a vampire.”

“How should I know? I don’t waste time with witches,” Sasori stated, shifting in his seat so he could sit up higher. He licked syrup, whipped cream, and honey off his fingers while his eyes began to roam the kitchen with newfound interest. They finally rested on the fridge. “Do you have ice cream?”

“You can’t have ice cream for breakfast,” Itachi stated firmly.

“Why not?” Sasori demanded with a sneer, seeming to have forgotten that he was unable to bully anyone into doing what he wanted at the moment.

“Because it’s not healthy, and besides, we’re all out,” Itachi told him, getting up to wash his dishes. “If you’re finished, you can come wash your dishes.”

“I am not washing my dishes,” Sasori said indignantly. “I am a guest.”

“An uninvited one,” Itachi reminded him without turning around. “Everyone washes their own dishes, so come on.” Behind him, a chair grated angrily against the floor and he heard feet stomping on the stone floor. He turned to look at Sasori, who waited until he had so that Itachi could see him promptly drop all the dishes on the floor, giving him a nasty look before storming out of the room.

Sam exhaled heavily. “My momma would have knocked his brains out of his head for doing that,” she said, getting up to help Itachi clean up. “What a bad kid… He’s so scary though, I don’t know how you manage to stay so chill when he gets angry.”

“I’m not sure myself,” Itachi admitted, dumping the broken plate in the trashcan. “I used to think it was just the Deidara part of me that isn’t as scared of him, but I … I don’t know...”

She gave a soft shudder and dumped the pieces she held in the trash. “It’d be nice if I could just you know, shake off this paralyzing fear of being around vampires who aren’t Deidara,” she said with a false laugh. “I’m a damn coward.”

“I don’t think you’re a coward,” Itachi told her firmly. “I don’t know what happened to you, but you survived and that makes you not a coward.”

“Wait… you… you don’t know?” she asked, turning to face him with her eyes wide. “But… But Deidara knows. He hasn’t told you?”

“No,” Itachi said shaking his head. “He wouldn’t tell me if you asked him not to.”

“But you two share everything,” Sam said quietly.

“Not everything,” Itachi replied with a small smile. “If you asked him not to tell anyone. Deidara keeps his promises.” He finished washing the dishes and dried them so that they could be put away. He wondered if he could call Chloe now and if it wasn’t safe to do so. It might not be good to let Chloe’s aunt know that her spell had been successful, but he had to find out how to change the spell, or, if it was permanent, how to keep Sasori from plotting.

“I was kidnapped,” Sam said quietly, rubbing her hand over her arm like she did when she was nervous. “Just before I turned sixteen. Some guy was kidnapping black girls and selling them to this vampire still stuck that black-people-are-animals mentality old white men in America have—”

“What?” Itachi interrupted, staring at her in horror. “Black people are anima—? Who would think—”

“Hey,” she said with the false brightness he had learned to associated with American sarcasm. “Next subject for you to study: U.S. history. Anyway, so he kept black girls in cages and chains and… had us… entertain him and his ‘family’…by… well, it’s just… they…”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don't want to,” Itachi told her gently.

“Thanks,” she said, rubbing her arm harder. “Anyway, I was with him for… for f-four years before Deidara passed through and saw us all there and he was so angry. Dei doesn't like when people are treated like slaves, like... like animals. He killed the vampire and set us all free… I wanted really bad to go back to my mom, but I was scared of what she’d say or… or something. She wouldn’t have let it go and I was too scared to see her, to disappoint her - I was kidnapped somewhere my mom told me not to go… so Deidara offered to let me come with him and I accepted because he didn’t scare me. I mean, he can be scary sometimes, but not like the others. It’s been nine years since then, but I still get nervous around aggressive vampires.”

“That’s terrible, Sam, I’m sorry,” he said even gently.

“Yeah,” she said, giving a one shouldered shrug to try and pass it off as nothing. “Anyway, that’s where I came from… Thanks for not saying I’m a coward.”  
“I would never say that,” Itachi insisted again. “Thank you for telling me… I’m going to call Chloe before Sasori comes storming back here to break something again.”

As he walked the hallways, he wondered where he should go to make the phone call. He didn’t know where Sasori had stormed off to, but hoped that he had returned to Deidara or to the library where no one could hurt him. He settled on one of the towers, climbing the spiral stairs to the top where he could see the city over the trees that lined the borders of the property acres away. Finding a comfortable seat on the deep window, he pulled out his phone and heaved a sigh and dialed the number.

“Hallo?”

“Chloe, it’s Itachi,” he said, sitting up a little. “Sorry to bother you, is it a bad time?”

“Hi, hang on a second,” she said. While he waited, he heard voices and then a door closing. “Sorry, I’m here. Is Deidara okay?”

“Yes, he’s fine, but,” he gave a soft sigh. “That woman, your aunt? Her spell worked. Sasori, Deidara’s Maker is here and—”

“He’s _human_?” she asked in a lowered voice, half in horror, half in astonishment.

“It seems like it. Deidara says he smells human, the vampires attacked him, and he fell asleep and ate,” Itachi told her. “Your spell worked to protect the library, by the way, the vampires got flung out when I uninvited them… You weren’t sure if it would work.”

“Oh, that’s good,” she said softly.

“Yeah, but… we have to put him back, and I’m worried what she’ll do if she knows it worked and… I also wanted to see how you were.”

“She was right about my grandmother,” Chloe said in a quiet voice. “She did use blood magic to gain power, but it isn’t what Deidara thought. She died younger than we witches normally do because she sacrificed pieces of herself to make incredibly strong magic. Her autopsy results came in and apparently she was sacrificing organs and…” she heaved a shaky sigh.

“The woman mentioned an heirloom,” Itachi said quietly. “What is that?”

“Oh,” Chloe said, clearing her throat. “Well, I think it would be better if we spoke in person about that… I know that Deidara is in his Suntime death, but would you like to meet at my shop?”

“Yes, if that’s best for you,” Itachi said standing up. “When is the best time for you?”

“How about in an hour? I think I can slip away,” she suggested. “Aunt Teresa is keeping an extremely close eye on us all…”

“I can be there,” Itachi told her. “Please be careful.”

“Thanks, Itachi.”

Hanging up, he hurried down the stairs towards the southern wing where the werewolves lived. He had very little interactions with the other vampires humans who usually drove their cars, and after last night, he was concerned with what the vampires might have told their humans after the night before. He could never properly tell Deidara why he liked being around the werewolves so much more than vampires, but he supposed it was partially the same reason Sam was afraid. Strong vampires took advantage of humans. Sasori always seemed much more dangerous and aggressive than Deidara, but that didn’t mean Deidara wasn’t equally so. He paused to shiver, thinking of the journey from Japan to Germany and the way Deidara played with him with the gentleness of a hungry feral cat. He continued walking, moving passed his own bedroom.

“Where are you going? Did you call the witches?” Sasori demanded, stalking out of the room and beginning to follow him.

“Yes,” Itachi stated, wondering how he was going to get rid of the redhead. “I’m going to meet them now.”

“I’m coming with you,” Sasori replied, walking faster to keep up with Itachi’s longer stride.

“You can’t,” Itachi said, then pulled the first thing he could think of out of his mind. “Deidara said he needs you.”

“Why?”

Itachi paused in front of the door leading to the werewolves’ wing. Sasori didn’t exactly have the best reputation among them. “He didn’t say, just that he needed you today,” he told him.

Sasori stared at him suspiciously. “Are you lying to me?” he demanded.

“No,” Itachi lied.

The redhead’s eyes narrowed at him and he crossed his arms tightly. “I cannot tell whether you just lied to me twice,” he said through clenched teeth.

“Go see Deidara,” Itachi insisted. He waited while Sasori considered him with those narrowed suspicious eyes then turned and stalked off. _‘Deidara, you need to pretend you needed Sasori,’_ he called hurriedly to his other half. Before Deidara could express more than his confusion, he hurried on. _‘I’m sorry. I need to go see Chloe at her shop, but Sasori wanted to go. I need you to keep him occupied, watch a movie or something – my laptop is on my nightstand.’_

 _‘This sucks,’_ Deidara grumbled. _‘He’s going to be horrible…’_

_‘Maybe he’ll fall asleep again. I’m sorry, Deidara, but—’_

_‘Wait you can’t go to the city by yourself, un!’_

_‘I’m not, I’m taking one of the werewolves,’_ Itachi replied with a sigh, opening the door and walking down the corridor. _‘I’ll be careful… make sure Sasori doesn’t escape the room when the vampires are out.’_ He heard Deidara continuing to grumble as he reached out to knock on the door to the area where the children did their schoolwork together.


	5. The Grimoire Stone

Chloe was waiting for him when he arrived; he could see her pacing at the door to her shop when he and Rose’s mother pulled up. Something he couldn’t quite see shimmered outside her shop and he wondered vaguely if it was magic hiding her or if he just hadn’t noticed the magic the last few times he had visited her shop. Dahlia took one look at the nervous witch and gave Itachi a Look. “I will get coffee and wait at the café,” she told him as he opened the car door.

“Thanks for driving me,” Itachi said with a smile before closing the car door. “I don’t think I’ll be long.”

“Hi, Itachi,” Chloe said from the door, wringing her hands a little before giving Dahlia a small wave. “Thanks for coming. Sorry to be so cryptic over the phone, but it’s been… difficult at house.”

“I understand, are you alright?” he asked, following her into the shop so she could close the door.

“Yes,” she replied, rubbing her hands on her thighs. “It’s just… difficult… Mother and Aunt Teresa have been fighting all night, mostly arguing, but sometimes trying to hex one another. Aunt Teresa is the eldest of _oma_ ’s children, so she should be the head of the coven, but she was cast out so… I’m sorry, I’m babbling… Want some tea?”

“Sure, if you don’t mind,” he replied, watching her curiously. He watched her meticulously choose herbs to place in the tea pot while the water heated. She seemed to be being very precise in her actions as a way of focusing her thoughts. He enjoyed watching and analyzing people. It had first become something he paid attention to from watching the werewolves interact with one another. Body language and rank and the importance of position in your pack was something every werewolf needed to know for a pack to be happy. Every position in a pack was vital and necessary and it was when those things were taken for granted did conflict arise in the pack and fights began which were very violent until the Alpha shut it down. Having two packs in the same city made it more difficult and Itachi, who had never had a community to belong to as the packs did, enjoyed watching the dynamics of them and was very happy to be accepted by the packs as a treasured outsider.

Chloe set a tray holding the tea pot, two mugs, and a plate of sugar cubes on the little table between two stuffed chairs. He had sat here the first time he had met Chloe, alone and confused, and she had told him that there was a spell protecting him that showed how very loved he was. Loved by blood, and loved by friends, she had told him and helped him find a foothold in the supernatural world he had been pulled into. He watched her sit, not the gentle, knowing woman she had been that day. Instead, she seemed distracted and worried. He wanted to help her like she had helped him, so he waited, leaning forwards and poured her tea and then one for himself.

She picked it up without thanking him and looked into the tea as if she could see something below the surface, though she had told him that she didn’t have the gift of foresight. “I want you to know the story of the Engel Coven,” she began finally. “My ancestors were stolen from our home to be slaves here, alone with many others who weren’t witches. Witches can be strong without using blood magic – magic that uses the pain or death of others to strengthen it, but it’s not always strongest or fastest. It’s hard to be patient enough to create the magic naturally. My _oma_ taught me that magic strengthen by love is the most powerful, but evil magic is faster and has the appearance of being stronger. They lost their love when they were tortured into livestock, machines, and tools that have no identity for the people who bought them. They couldn’t make magic out of love, they saw so much suffering that they knew they had to save themselves or lose their magic. I know that you know that Shadow Hunters who study magic, must continue to use magic once they begin or the magic eats away at their bodies and souls until there is nothing left. We witches are born to the magic, we can use it and not use it as much as we want, but it is possible for us to… forget out magic,” she offered, though she didn’t seem pleased with her word choice. “Especially when we are alone. In secret, they formed a new coven, taking their suffering and the deaths of those surrounding them to fuel the coven magic and compiled it into a new grimoire so that the coven leader could use the strongest magic to protect their coven without hurting others.

“They used that magic to escape the bonds of slavery and helped the other slaves escape as well. We kept the grimoire like we keep our spell books and protected our family. Each matriarch takes on the responsibility of protecting and caring for our family, even if that means casting out witches who turn to blood magic,” Chloe said softly, stirring her tea absentmindedly. “My _oma_ inherited the responsibilities of the coven after her sister passed - killed by the Master before Deidara… but the grimoire was stolen, Aunt Teresa was right. We don’t know when and we don’t know by whom, but she needed to protect the coven, so she … she performed blood magic on herself, not hurting others, but hurting herself to make herself strong enough. And she kept it a secret. That’s why she aged and died before witches usually do, there were things dying inside of her… she was so strong,” she said, her voice quivered slightly, but she swallowed and looked up at him.

“I wish I knew her sooner,” Itachi told her, setting down his nearly empty mug.

“I wish you did too,” she said with a sad smile. “But now… I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’ve never seen a fight within my family – a real fight I mean… squabbles and disagreements are normal. I’m scared that my aunt might kill my mother for power, but she might take the whole coven down if she does… The Shadow Hunters are still fighting and zealots grow stronger in our world and the normal human world too, I… we can’t be fighting.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Itachi asked, leaning forward a little.

“I don’t know…” she said softly. “I’m doing my best to keep everyone from fighting and taking sides… But it feels like that’s what people are doing. Aunt Teresa’s type of power seems easy to gain and is tempting people, but… I don’t know… There’s been some animosity between some of the younger witches too, they want power, not fully understanding the cost of power.”

“Mesi saved us that night,” he told her, offering her a small smile. “There wasn’t much time to think about it, but it did surprise me.”

She gave a soft laugh as if he had lifted a small weight off her shoulders. “Yes, I saw that… She really not terrible, even though she pretends to be someone who would use blood magic if she could. She likes Deidara a lot, too, even though she doesn’t like to show it,” she told him, smiling fondly at the thought of her cousin.

“Are they both okay?” he asked. “Mesi and Priscilla.”

“Yes… they’ve been making a lot of excuses to stay around me, though,” she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. “I don’t mind it, but I think it would be safer if they admitted to being scared.” 

They sat in silence for a little while before the door to Chloe’s shop chimed and Mesi breezed in like a hurricane with Priscilla following behind her like a shadow. They both looked a little startled to see Itachi there, though Mesi recovered quickly and gave her hair a characteristic little flick, but before she could say something, Itachi spoke first. “We were just talking about you,” he told them.

“Oh?” Mesi asked, recovering from her second startled expression. “Good things?” she added with a sly smile.

“Thank you for saving Sam, Deidara, and me last night,” he said, offering her a smile.

“You’re very welcome,” she said, looking smug. “So, you just came to talk about how great I am? Or are you here to personally thank me?”

“No,” he told her. “I wanted to help if I could, and also…”

Chloe met his sideways glance and sighed. “Aunt Teresa’s curse may have worked,” she told them. “A visitor to the castle seems to have been turned back into a human, but I don’t know how it’s actually possible,” she said this both to her cousins and to Itachi. “What she said does make sense in theory – changing someone into a vampire is a bit like a disease, but to reverse it is seriously powerful magic…”

“Death magic,” Priscilla said in her quiet voice. “So many deaths… I could feel the echoes of pain hanging off her. It’s like… they’re still screaming.” She shuddered and sat down on one of the cushions that Chloe’s cat usually napped in.

“Can you think of a way to reverse it?” Itachi asked. “And maybe… erase his memory so he won’t try to get someone to turn Deidara back too?”

Confusion crossed Chloe’s face. “Why would he want Deidara to turn back into a human?” she asked.

Itachi briefly explained how Deidara had been the most delicious thing Sasori had ever tasted and how he had turned Deidara into a vampire, not realizing that a Maker couldn’t feed off their Made anymore. “The only reason Sasori has kept Deidara alive – I think he’s killed all his other Made or at least he hasn’t Made anymore vampires in a long while,” Itachi explained, “is because he might find a way to feed off Deidara again.”

“Wow, obsessed much?” Mesi commented with raised eyebrows.

“Child Vampires are very dangerous, because even though they might be older in years, they never really grow out of the age that they were changed. You’ve seen how Deidara can be, sometimes he’s playful and fun, but he can throw tantrums like a bad teenager even though he’s a few hundred years old?” Itachi asked her. When she nodded, he continued, offering, “Sasori was younger than Deidara when he was changed.”

“Yikes, what moron decided to change _him_ ,” she replied, folding her arms and leaning on one of the thick bookshelves. “Do you think she’s really turned him back to human?” she added after a few minutes of silence. “It could just be an illusion… trick his body into thinking it’s become human again? I know there’s some really strong hexes that can make a vampire’s body thing that light is the sun and it will react just like it…”

“Maybe, but… you remember how the house smelled all night?” Chloe countered, crossing her legs. “It smelled like… not illusion magic.”

“Magic has a smell?” Itachi asked. “Deidara sometimes says magic smells, but he never says whether it smells like anything in particular.”

“If you know your magic you can sometimes smell different types of magic based on the smell because different ingredients used,” Chloe explained. “I think Deidara can just smell magic as a broad thing…”

“Generally, magic kinda smells like the wind right before a big storm,” Mesi offered, with an upturned hand. Chloe gave a nod.

“Did she say…” Priscilla began softly, “that the visitor was witchborn?”

There was silence for a moment, then Itachi turned to her. “Yes, she did,” he replied. “I asked him, but he didn’t know. What does that mean? What is a witchborn?”

“A witchborn is very literal. Someone whose parent was a witch – sometimes one parent sometimes both… It means that she believes Deidara’s Maker is a witch, or a witch’s offspring,” Chloe told him.

“A witch vampire?” Mesi’s face lost a little bit of her color.

Itachi looked at them each, uncertain of what to do. He didn’t know if Sasori was a witch before he had been turned into the monster he was now, but as he thought of the redhead’s abilities it made sense. Vampires used the glamour of their eyes, forces of will, to control victim. Sasori’s abilities extended into physically controlling them without needing the force of will. He controlled their bodies like a puppet master, creating his own theater of fear and torture. “Does,” he began softly, then cleared his throat and spoke a little louder. “Does your magic work on Shadow Hunters?”

“Not very well,” Chloe answered, turning her still full mug in her hand absentmindedly. “Some minor things do, but to place a curse or hex on a Shadow Hunter takes a lot of effort and Shadow Hunters can easily break them once they’re aware of it. The magic won’t settle on them because of the natural magic in their blood they don’t use.”

Itachi ran his hand over his mouth and heaved a sigh. “Deidara’s Maker can control people as if they were simply dolls on strings,” he explained, feeling the weight of that ability on his conscious. “It doesn’t work on me, and he said he doesn’t know why it never works on Shadow Hunters unless they’re dead.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Chloe set her mug down as if she was worried she’d drop it. “I have never met Deidara’s Maker, but if he truly is witchborn, he is one of the most dangerous creatures in history. Even if he was changed before he could be taught.”

“She cannot stay,” Priscilla suddenly spoke up. “She isn’t safe. She is dangerous.”

“Can’t you just deny your aunt the position?” Itachi asked, not really knowing how witch law worked. “Or… combine your magic to cast her out?”

“No, she’s too strong,” Chloe said shaking her head. “She has death magic stored all over her, ready to use without needing to work the spells… Without the matriarch casting her out, she could convince other clans to work with her and take us all out…”

“So, we need the grimoire … which no one knew was gone and no one knows where it is,” Mesi stated, sighing heavily.

“A quest,” Priscilla murmured.

“Yeah, not a video game, Prissy,” Mesi said in a testy voice. “It’s not like we can just up and leave while the coven is in a state… And we have to break the spell on Deidara’s Maker and hope no one tells him he is a damn witch as well.”

“I wonder,” Chloe began slowly, “if the un-Change is something she made herself… I’ve never heard of that sort of spell, or even someone researching it. She wouldn’t teach it,” she added to Itachi. “Witches who invent their own spells either keep them to themselves, or only pass it down within their family. She is probably the only person who knows how to create the hex or spell.”

As he digested this information, the small part of him that was Deidara drifted into his thoughts and whispered that if they killed the witch, Sasori couldn’t hurt them by learning the spell himself, but he pushed the thought away. He wasn’t going to kill anyone, or encourage someone else’s death. His thoughts drifted closer to Deidara and heard from a distance the sound of a movie or tv show playing in the background, the smell of his own bedroom and the scent of sand and pine that were familiar but so wrong… He pulled away from Deidara before he noticed his presence so close to his mind. “Can you break it?” Itachi asked them.

“I think so,” Chloe said, casting her eyes around her store. “Probably… But I’ll need to see him… And we’d have to do it without Aunt Teresa finding out…” The other girls nodded.

“Would you three be safer if you stayed in the castle?”

Chloe looked apprehensive, but it was Mesi who answered. “No way,” she said, throwing her hands out. “Anyone who is with Auntie will consider it an act of cowardice and wouldn’t follow Chloe when she takes over.” There was a long pause. “I’m with Chloe,” she added defensively to Itachi as if the silence was his doubt.

“I love Chloe,” Priscilla commented as if her attention was elsewhere. “I dream about Itachi…”

Everyone’s eyes turned towards her and she lifted her large, staring eyes to Itachi. “You’re always leaving,” she said in a sad voice. “Every time, no matter what happens in the dream, you always leave me… I saw you on top of a wolf, but you didn’t see me. I saw you in a town where the cats were flying and the birds were walking, but you sailed away. I dreamed you spoke to Death itself, but when I called to you, you couldn’t hear me. You visited a dragon and it gave you a gift, but when I ran to you, you left…”

“Do you have travel plans?” Chloe asked, in a half joking manner, raising an eyebrow at Itachi.

“Deidara does,” Itachi admitted, still looking at Priscilla. “He wants to go have another adventure together.”

“You must take Sam,” Priscilla told him, nodding her head as if agreeing to something, a warm affectionate smile spreading across her face. “Poor, precious Sam… The flying cats will bring you joy, Itachi.”

“Prissy, you’re being vaguer than usual,” Mesi told her cousin with a note of exasperation in her voice. “Are you trying to say you want Itachi to go on a quest to find the grimoire? We don’t even know what it is.”

“It’s a stone,” Chloe said immediately, though her voice had grown soft. “It is meant to be strung on the headdress mother wore last night, among the pearls, that’s how we knew it was gone… After you left Itachi, I went to mother’s room and I saw her examining the headdress and she told me.”

“A stone?” Mesi asked, casting her eyes to the ceiling dramatically. “One little stone in the whole wide world? Should be simple to find.”

Itachi settled back in his seat and thought. If Chloe’s aunt needed to be taken care of and none of the witches could go search for this grimoire stone, it did make sense for him to go look. Deidara would disagree wholeheartedly that it was his responsibility, but he could probably convince him. He remembered Sophia Engel’s admonitions that the relationship between Deidara and the witches was rather one-sided and this would, perhaps help balance that out. “Deidara would like an excuse to make your mother happy, Chloe,” he said, deciding to be as honest as possible. “He wasn’t very interested in any of the suggestions the other vampires had, but he still wants to be allies with your coven. He’ll also like the idea of a …” he glanced at Priscilla, “quest. However, no matter how Sasori treats him, he won’t leave Sasori here vulnerable as he is.”

“You can’t take him with you?” Mesi asked.

“Have you met Sasori?” Itachi asked her apprehensively.

“No…”

Itachi looked down at his empty cup and sighed a little. “He is … evil,” he finally stated. “He’s a Child Vampire who thinks killing and hurting things is a game, but he’s too strong for the Vampire Council to stop him and he refuses to follow any of their laws. When he visited us last year, he liked to make the werewolves angry on purpose, just for fun… But, he’s very old,” he added, shaking his head, “he doesn’t remember how to be a human… He kept forgetting to breath and nearly choked to death eating this morning because he forgot to chew.”

Mesi snorted in amusement, then crossed her arms, but Itachi held his hand up to stop her from saying anything as Deidara’s voice cut through his thoughts. _‘You need to get home, un… before I kill him,’_ even through their thoughts it sounded like Deidara was gritting his teeth.

“Deidara wants me to come home,” Itachi told the women, pushing his hair off his forehead.

“Is he truly witchborn?” Chloe suddenly asked, frowning. “Sasori, I mean.”

“I don’t know… and he doesn’t know either,” Itachi told her as they stood up.

“The way you said he controls people is frightening… It would make sense… if he was so young when he was changed, maybe that’s how his magic manifested when he was changed, and he doesn’t understand it himself,” she sighed quietly. “I will look into how to break a spell that strong and call you when I have it… I’m not sure how well I can completely block his memory though, but I will look for that as well. Could you ask Deidara if he doesn’t mind going to look for…”

“Of course,” Itachi told her, smiling slightly.

“I will search for the best path,” Priscilla said, still sitting on the cushion, but she reached out and touched Itachi’s hand very softly. “You’re going to be happy soon… Something good will happen,” she told him confidentially.

“Prissy, if you keep that up, we’re not going to be able to convince Itachi that you can’t see the future,” Mesi told her. Priscilla smiled, leaning forward to kiss Itachi’s hand, and let hers drop.

Itachi said his goodbyes to the witches and walked down the street to the coffee shop that stood in front of what used to be Kit’s office where she did most of her accounting work for her supernatural clients. He stopped to look at the For Lease sign on the office window and felt the slight chill go down his spine that came every time he thought about Kit and her betrayal. He had thought she was a friend.

Someone touched his shoulder and he turned to see Dahlia. She gave him a little smile and looked passed him to the office as well. “It haunts me, too,” she told him, offering him a cup of iced coffee she had gotten him. He took it with a thank you and they began to walk back to her car. “Is Sasori really a human now?” she asked turning to look at him with a frown.

“We’re not sure,” he told her with a slight sigh. “One of Chloe Engel’s relatives put a hex on him to reverse the vampirism… I was meeting Chloe to see if they could break it to put it back, but they’re not sure if he is human or his body just thinks it is. Rose was very brave last night,” he added to her because he knew she would be happy to know. “Deidara’s vampires attacked Sasori when they found him smelling like a human – they didn’t seem to care why – and Rose tried to protect him.”

She beamed proudly. “I think my daughter is going to be very dominant when she is older,” she said, pulling her keys out and unlocked her truck for him. “When I was younger, it used to be difficult for female wolves because our human sides are still influenced by human society. Now it’s getting easier… I think Rose could be an Alpha, or a Beta.”

“She likes taking care of people,” Itachi offered as they pulled out into the road.

“Yeah… I can’t wait until she can return to school,” Dahlia said in a soft voice. “She is good with the younger pups, but I want her to be around kids her own age…”

He felt another prod from Deidara. _‘We’re nearly home,’_ he assured the blond who felt utterly miserable on his end. “I hope she can soon,” he agreed. “Will it be soon? I thought you were waiting for her to change, but that was nearly a year ago…”

“Yes,” she said with another sigh. “She changed earlier than most wolves do, possibly due to the trauma of the other pups being killed… Jasper wanted to allow her time to become used to the change and make sure she could control the wolf in bad situations and I think she’s done amazing.” Her entire face shone with pride in her daughter. “I think she will begin secondary school this year, but we haven’t told her yet.”

“She’ll be very happy,” Itachi agreed with a smile. They pulled into the driveway and she let him off at the entrance at his request before going into the parking structure. At least, he supposed as he went through the front door, the castle was still standing, so he didn’t really know what Deidara was so insistent about his return until he reached his own corridor and heard shouting in his room.

Deidara had apparently used up the little energy he had during the day to barricade himself inside Itachi’s closet and Sasori, whose human strength was not even a fraction of his vampiric strength, had worn himself out trying to fight his way in and had resorted to shouting abuse at the silent wooden door. He stepped into the room as Sasori rammed his shoulder against the door which did nothing except cause a pained sound to escape the redhead’s mouth; his vampire felt him enter and seemed to relax though Itachi could still feel his miserable and guilt-ridden mood. Finally noticing Itachi, Sasori rounded on him, face nearly as red as his hair from all his efforts. Itachi noticed that he was wearing one of his own shirts and a pair of his running shorts, both of which were much too big for him. 

The redhead jabbed his finger at the door. “Make him come out,” he ordered.

“Why?” Itachi asked calmly.

“My stomach hurts and my head hurts and I’m bored,” he growled at him, his bare foot stomping down on the floor. 

“Deidara is in his Suntime death,” Itachi reminded him, not phased at all by the tantrum. “He can’t do anything for you until the sun goes down. Why didn’t you ask someone else?”

“I am not leaving this room like this and you weren’t here,” Sasori accused him. “Where were you anyway? Did you even call the witches?”

“Of course he did, un,” came Deidara’s muffled voice from the closet. “I told you he did. Twice. You didn’t believe me. Trust me, we’re trying to get rid of you, un. No one wants you here, Sasori.”

The redhead bristled again, rounding on the door, but clutched his stomach and stomped into the bathroom instead. Itachi heard him coughing and retching, but went to the closet after setting his drink down instead, giving a gentle tap and heard something move away from the door. He opened it and knelt down next to Deidara who had pushed one of his trunks in front of the door and was wedged in its place in the corner, looking miserable as he felt in their shared mind. “He’s been throwing up all afternoon, un,” the blond grumbled, letting Itachi pick him up and carry him back into the room to place him on the bed, then closed all the windows and curtains that certainly hadn’t been open when he left. “It’s my fault of course.”

“That’s not fair,” Itachi agreed, turning the bedroom lights on before propping the weak body up on the pillows. He reached up and gently pushed the blond locks from the pale face. “Did he open all the windows?”

Deidara nodded and closed his eyes, about to lean into Itachi’s hand when Sasori stumbled out of the bathroom looking ashen; he pulled the blankets over his head instead. “Did you try to poison me?” Sasori demanded of Itachi.

“Of course not,” Itachi assured him.

“That girl did,” he growled dangerously, glaring at the door.

Deidara flung the blankets off of himself and sat upright as Itachi moved to block Sasori’s path to the door. “Don’t you dare hurt Sam, un,” he growled angrily, teeth bared.

“She poisoned me!”

“Sam would never do that,” Itachi told him firmly. “She was trying to help you.”

“Then what is wrong with me?” he demanded.

Itachi sighed and looked over at Deidara whose milky blind eyes were still glaring furiously. “I don’t know, Sasori,” he said, still making sure his voice remained calm. “It could be just that your body isn’t used to real food and doesn’t know what to do with it, so it’s making you sick.”

“Why does my head hurt?” Sasori demanded.

“I don’t know,” Itachi told him. “Headaches come from lots of different things.”

“Probably swelling from your huge head,” Deidara muttered.

Sasori rounded on the blond again, but Itachi moved in front of him. “Being mean isn’t going to make you feel better,” Itachi scolded him.

“Don’t talk to me like I’m a child,” Sasori growled.

“You are a kid, Sasori,” Deidara commented from the bed and Itachi saw Sasori bristle again, clenching his jaw tightly. Itachi had a sudden realization and tried to keep his face from growing a sympathetic expression. After three hundred years of being called a pet name he hated, its absence was probably as uncomfortable as suddenly being in a different body.

“Chloe said she thinks she can break the hex on you,” Itachi said into the silence, “but she says she needs to see you to do it.”

“No,” Sasori snapped, arms crossing tightly. “I’m not going outside.”

“Why?” Itachi asked, still forcing his voice to remain calm and patient.

“The sun hurts my eyes,” Sasori muttered, clenching his teeth again.

“Then why did you open all the windows?” Itachi asked, gesturing at his heavy curtains. Sasori didn’t answer, but continued to glower at them both as Deidara supplied Itachi through their connection that after Sasori had gone through and taken Itachi’s clothes when Deidara couldn’t stop him, he wouldn’t let Sasori choose the next movie they were going to watch together and Sasori had thrown a tantrum. “Sasori, if you don’t want to be treated like a child, don’t act like one,” Itachi said firmly and Sasori glared accusingly at Deidara who shuffled back under the covers and gave them his back. “I’m going to make dinner, then go study,” he said, more to Deidara than Sasori. “You may join me if you want, Sasori.”

He picked up his drink again and left the room, knowing that Sasori would follow him just for something to do. In the kitchen, he took out of the freezers two of the portioned bags of frozen soup that was left over from Wes’s harvest the winter before and set a pot on the stove to heat it up. While he watched the soup melt in the extra broth he had added, he recounted his trip to Deidara, telling him about the grimoire stone that had been stolen and how Anita Engel had sacrificed parts of her own body to give herself enough power to protect the family. As he thought, Deidara was very enthusiastic about going on a trip to find this unknown stone for the witches, calling it a quest just like Priscilla had. He seemed bemused by Priscilla’s dreams though and not as interested as the idea of looking for something. The blond wanted to begin planning right away even though he didn’t know where to begin and Itachi felt him pulling away to plot and wonder what they would do with Sasori in the meantime.

“Are you always so quiet?” came Sasori’s voice behind him. Itachi turned to look at him, finding the sight of the small boy in his clothes very disconcerting. Sasori was generally so put together, though he always dressed as a child; this disheveled ill-fitting state didn’t suit him. Deidara wore his clothes sometimes, but Itachi felt everything looked nice on Deidara. “What?” Sasori demanded at the expression that must have been on his face.

“If you had asked, I would have found you something to wear that would fit you better,” Itachi told him, turning back to give the soup a stir.

“You weren’t here,” came the sneer behind him.

“Deidara was and so was Rose, who would have helped you if you had asked,” Itachi reminded him, and Sasori made a derisive sound, but said nothing. “Since you haven’t eaten real food in such a long time, I think something light would be better than something heavy and sugary like your breakfast. But be careful, it’s hot.” He placed the vegetable soup on the table with extra broth inside and laid a spoon down next to it before he set his own covered bowl on a tray with a few hunks of buttered bread and juice and headed for the other door.

“Wait, where are you going?” Sasori demanded. He had approached the soup curiously and was staring at him leaving.

“The library,” he answered, pausing to look back at him. Sasori made another unhappy noise and reached to pick up the bowl, probably to follow after him, but dropped it just as Itachi spoke up to warn him not to do so. The bowl bounced onto the counter, but only splashed a little of the broth out as Sasori stared down at his hands that trembled slightly from the pain of the hot bowl and Itachi placed his tray down and returned to him. “Go put your hands under cold water,” he said, gesturing at the sink then cleaned up the spilled soup. He added a little more broth then placed the bowl carefully on another tray for him instead, then picked up his own tray and walked out with Sasori following after him with his wet hands dripping a trail after them.

“What exactly did the witches say?” Sasori demanded as they entered the library through what must have once been the servant’s entrance and set their trays down on one of the tables. Itachi sat down in the hard wooden chair provided, but Sasori went to drag the stuffed chair he used to sit in when he had visited last time as a vampire and crossed his legs on the cushion.

“I told you already,” Itachi said, digging into his soup that was still just as good as the first batch.

Sasori watched him spooning soup up and blowing on it before sipping it carefully. He glanced down at his own spoon and leaned forward to sip the soup from the edge of the bowl, then sat up again. “I want details,” Sasori stated, leaning forward on his elbows. “How was it done? What was used?”

Itachi looked up at him, his honey brown eyes had an evil glint in them that he did not like. “You are not going to learn how to work the spell or make someone do it for you,” he said, his worst fear coming back to him. “Deidara wants to be a human again, but you are not going to hurt him again, Sasori.”

“Deidara is mine,” Sasori growled at him, picking up the bowl again more cautiously. “If this will allow me to drink his blood aga—”

Itachi shook his head firmly. “You don’t own anyone, Sasori. You’re just being selfish and I won’t allow you to hurt Deidara like you did when he was human,” he gave Sasori a hard look, but the redhead just glowered at him over the bowl of soup he was sipping instead of using his spoon. “You will be safe inside of this room and my bedroom,” he began, changing the subject. “If you’d like, you may continue sleeping in my room, or I can set up a place for you in here. Tomorrow, I will ask if Chloe wants to meet us here, or you and I can go into the city together…” He gave Sasori a curious look and chewed on his piece of bread, “is there anything you want to do or try while you’re human?” he asked.

“No,” Sasori stated without even considering the question. “I don’t have any interest in human things.”

The brunette sighed again and set down his empty bowl, placing the lid back on his bowl to keep it from drying out when he studied and went to go sit down at his desk where he had left out the linguistic textbook and his notes were sitting, waiting for him to continue. It was much nicer studying this way instead of restricting himself to specific instructions from teachers, though he had spent a lot of time researching syllabi posted online by teachers so that he could remain challenged and open to learning new things. Deidara had promised that he would consider letting him go to a university, but the blond seemed to have forgotten, or had grown too protective in light of the Shadow Hunters’ attack.

Itachi opened his computer to review the work he needed to do and noticed an email sitting in his inbox waiting to be read. He blinked, a strange feeling rising in his gut. It had been a long time since he had heard anything from Kisame, a Shadow Hunter who had traveled with him to rescue Deidara. He had only done it in hopes of regaining Itachi as his partner that had been lost when Itachi’s parents had been killed and he had fallen out of the supernatural world. He opened the email.

_Itachi,_

_Anything new going on? Been traveling a lot lately and thought of you. I’ve been sent overseas on assignment (can’t say where) to see if I can handle the situations between Shadow Hunters that’s been cropping up in America. It’s pretty weird how the Shadow Hunters there seem to be spurred by normal human bullshit, but I guess people are just dense about bullshit.—_

Itachi frowned a little, wondering why Kisame had said he couldn’t say where he was going and then said where he was going, but read on.

_—On the other hand, I’m going to eat so much bbq, so that’s a bonus, I guess. Any trouble on your end? Let me know,_

_Kisame_

He considered the email for a moment, wondering how to reply to the man. He was not very good at social interactions and keeping up with friends. The only reason he had friends now was because Deidara breezed through socializing like a small tornado which seemed to compliment his own quieter demeanor. Kisame was a little like Deidara in that aspect, which was probably why they had worked together so easily when they were practically complete strangers. He cleared his throat and began to write.

_Kisame,_

_Thank you for your email. Deidara and I are doing fine. We’ve had no major issues with any Shadow Hunters except for a small group who tried to attack one of the werewolves in the parking lot of a grocery store, but no one was hurt. Deidara thinks the presence of the local witch coven is keeping most them out of the city. A few of us hiked up the mountain that’s near the city and we thought we saw someone watching us, but otherwise it was a good time. It had been the first time the werewolf pups were able to leave the castle grounds; they were all very happy._

_BBQ sounds delicious, but I haven’t been following world news. Is it that bad in America? I hope you enjoy the BBQ,  
Itachi_

He looked over the email, wondering if that was alright then sent it. That was that, he supposed. He looked up from his computer and saw that Sasori had fallen asleep in his chair with his mouth hanging open a little. The sun was beginning to set later and later now that spring was crawling closer to summer which meant it was later in the day when Deidara could finally join him. Still, he came earlier than he should be able to, gifted through their shared souls the ability to move around in the day more than most vampires. Itachi felt him sneaking into the library and turned his head to look behind him at the blond with a raised eyebrow.

“You know you can’t sneak up on me anymore,” Itachi reminded him, the sight of the vampire frozen in a position as if he was going to try to scare him quite comical.

Deidara pouted and dropped his arms. “I thought you were too busy studying,” he mumbled, climbing into the chair with him and began to snuggle up against him. Suddenly, he jumped a little and looked wildly around. “Where’s—”

Itachi pointed at the chair on the other side of the room and felt the blond relax a little. “I think the food made him sick because he hasn’t needed to digest real food in such a long time,” Itachi said, turning the page of his textbook. “I gave him some soup instead… I’m still not sure it will help much though…”

“We should just kill him and save us all a lot of trouble, un,” Deidara commented in a dark voice, but when Itachi glanced back at him to see if he was serious, the blond looked miserable and buried his face against Itachi’s shoulder, swinging his legs over Itachi’s. “We _should_ kill that witch so Sasori never learns how to use the spell. I’ll never get away from him…”

“I won’t let him hurt you,” Itachi promised, reaching back to give the blond’s knee a pat. He felt Deidara swelling happily as he always did when Itachi said something possessive.

“What’s that?” Deidara asked suddenly, pointing to the email still open on his laptop screen. He began fidgeting so that he was sitting fully on Itachi’s lap. “That Shadow Hunter is emailing you, un? Why?”

“Because he thinks we’re friends and wanted to check in,” Itachi told him.

“Are you friends?”

He considered this. “I’m not sure,” he finally responded, clicking SEND.

“I don’t like it, un,” Deidara growled, moving so he was sitting in Itachi’s lap. Itachi sighed and put down his pen, unable to study now. “He can’t have you, you’re mine, un.”

“I’m not going back to the Shadow Hunters,” Itachi assured him. “I promise. I’m staying.”

Deidara’s face split into a wide grin and he swung his legs over the side of the desk chair and rubbed his nose against Itachi’s throat, inhaling his scent slowly. He felt his mouth open a little and held still so as not to present a target. “I can’t wait to go traveling with you again,” the blond murmured happily instead of biting him.

“Deidara,” Itachi said, in a half warning tone. He didn’t want the blond to start something that might be embarrassing if Sasori were to wake up. He couldn’t think of anything to say to distract him, so he pulled the first thought out of his mind. “What are you going to do about Markus and the others who attacked Sasori?”

The blond bristled and sat up in his lap, his anger spiking. “I forgot about that, un,” he growled getting to his feet.

“Wait—where are you going?” Itachi asked in alarm, starting to get up himself, but the blond was already storming out the door, and Itachi, cringing slightly, decided it would be safer for him to stay where he was and settled back into his chair, his eyes drifting across the room to the sleeping monster that he was sure was about to be avenged.


	6. The Witch's Mark

Being shut out by Deidara was not a comfortable feeling. The sharing of their souls was so intimate that both of them generally kept the link between them stretched like warm taffy to keep some things private and embarrassments to a minimum, but completely shutting it down was something neither of them liked. Deidara had spent such a long time shutting out the link to Sasori in his mind that sometimes it was difficult for him to allow Itachi in without supervision, even though he knew that Itachi would never take advantage of the rawness of his inner thoughts like his Maker would. Still, it was not comfortable being completely shut out, blocked from feeling more than the slight tingle of Deidara’s presence far away. The vampire’s rage at his underlings at their unprovoked attack on his Maker had caused him to forget the effect the block would have on his other half and had shut down their bond as hard as if he’d slammed a door in Itachi’s face, not wanting him to feel his anger or what came of it. As closed down as it was, somethings still seeped through and Itachi spend a while rubbing his hand against his jeans to dry it, only to realize it wasn’t his hand that was wet.

Itachi looked up at the castle, its windows sparkling slightly in the late afternoon sunshine with a dark look. The blond was too protective of him sometimes; he knew that his humanity in their connection had made Deidara more aware of the monstrous aspects of himself that was much more like his Maker than he cared to admit. Itachi was sure Deidara had done it because he was going to kill someone, and though he certainly didn’t like the idea of it, he was annoyed that Deidara believed he couldn’t handle it happening and also because he had promised not to do so again. It had been closed now for over a day. It made him feel irritable and petty, and he debating shutting down his own side from Deidara so when it was opened again he’d be blocking the blond out as punishment. He shook his head quickly. That was the bit of him that was Deidara. He was not that immature.

“Itachi?” came a soft voice above him.

He looked up and smiled at the girl in the tree above him, hanging upside down with the skirts of her dress tucked into her leggings to free her legs. “Sorry, Rose, did you say something?” he asked, leaning back on his elbows.

“No,” she said, reaching up to grab the branch to swing down and land lightly on the grass next to him. “You just looked really serious all of a sudden.”

“Sorry,” he said again. “I was just thinking about Deidara and Sasori.”

She made a noise with her cheeks puffed out and folded her legs under her so she could sit smartly down. Itachi smiled at her. It was always adorable to him when the nine year old werewolf tried to give the appearance of authority in conversations. “Jasper came over last night,” she said conversationally, “with my parents. He said something was up.”

Jasper was her pack’s Alpha who only came to the castle when the pack hunted together on Deidara’s grounds or if he needed to have a meeting with Deidara or the Denmark pack who were staying here like Rose. Itachi liked him, but never quite knew what to say to the man who was not very big nor very scary, but could quell an angry werewolf with a glance. “I thought you said the pack told you that you weren’t old enough to be told pack business,” he commented.

“Um,” she said with wide eyed innocence. “They thought I was asleep.” She hurried on when he gave her a stern expression. “He said that he came to talk to Deidara because he heard Sasori was back and Jasper hates Sasori cause he causes so much trouble, but that Deidara was busy because he had killed some of his vampires and he wanted to know what had happened. Jasper wasn’t happy. He said he was worried that it would make thinks bad for the werewolves if vampires are killing one another.”

Itachi swallowed and looked back up at the castle with a different expression. “I was worried he had,” he admitted to her. “Deidara was angry because they attacked Sasori and put you in danger.”

She flushed suddenly. “Mutti said you told her what I did and she was proud,” she squirmed with pleasure. “Thanks.”

“It was very brave of you,” Itachi told her reaching out to pat her white blond head. “But also very dangerous. You shouldn’t try fighting grown vampires no matter what.”

“Not you too,” she groaned.

“Yes, me too,” Itachi told her. “You’re very strong, and very tough, but you’re still only nine and we want to keep you safe.”

They both jumped a little at a sudden distant yell and looked back at the castle where one of the windows of the library was flung open and Itachi could only just see a small figure leaned out shouting at them indistinctly. They were too far away for Itachi to make out anything said or who even it was, but Rose, with her werewolf hearing seemed to be able to as she told him, “Sasori wants you.”

Itachi sighed a little, but didn’t get up. “He can come down to us,” he stated, leaning back on his elbows again to relax.

“He says he’s hungry,” Rose told him after a few more indistinct shouting.

“He can come down to us,” Itachi repeated, closing his eyes.

“Aren’t you scared of him?” Rose asked him curiously, though there was a grin on her lips.

“Of course, I am,” Itachi admitted to her. “But I don’t think he’ll hurt me because of Deidara, and he can’t hurt me when he’s like this anyway. In truth, I just have a hard time being afraid of someone who throws tantrums when they don’t get their way.”

She gave a light giggle. “You’d make a good dad, Itachi,” she told him.

“Rose Schaefer, what are you doing under that tree?” came the voice of a stern parent walking up the grass with Wes at her side. Rose tried not to look guilty and Itachi felt the branches of the old oak she had been climbing creak quietly away from them though there was no breeze. The movement sent a wave of goosebumps up his arms. The tree didn’t speak, so it was sometimes hard to remember the thing was alive, but even Deidara didn’t know what it was other than a tree. “Were you climbing it?” Dahlia asked with her hands on her hips.

“No,” Rose began, but her mother raised an eyebrow at her, “just a little bit…”

“I told you, Dahlia,” Wes said softly. “It would never hurt the innocent.” She gave him a firm look, but the gardener stepped forward and handed Rose a small bundle of spring flowers. “For your bedroom,” he told her with a smile which she returned happily. “Itachi,” the man said, turning to face him, though his eyes were staring up at the tree. “Chloe Engel is at the gate requesting entrance.”

“Thank you, Wes,” Itachi said, standing up and dusting off his pants as the gardener turned and walked away to the kitchen gardens. “I invite Chloe Engel to enter the grounds,” he said aloud to the magic as he watched the man slowly walk away. When the Shadow Hunters had attacked them a few months ago, Wes had been rescued by the very tree they were standing under. It had shut him into its gnarled trunk and hadn’t released him until Deidara returned and since then Wes had not been himself. He was more quiet and distant, often pausing in his work to stare off into the distance without looking at anything. Deidara was worried about him, too. Jasper had been quite angry at Deidara for not warning the werewolves that the old oak tree with its branches bent so willingly for climbers was more conscious than most trees in the grounds and the children had been warned to stay away from it. They had obeyed for a month or so until the lonely tree’s outstretched arms tempted them to climb them again. Itachi rather thought the tree stood a little straighter after the children returned.

“Are you ignoring me?” came an angry demand drawing his attention back down to the present. Sasori was standing a close, but wary distance away from the two werewolves, glaring evilly at Itachi. He had Deidara’s favorite hoodie held over his head with his hands shielding his eyes from the bright sun.

“No, Sasori, but it is rude to shout at people from windows,” Itachi told him patiently. “Did you need something?”

“I’m hungry,” he insisted.

“You know where the kitchen is,” Itachi reminded him. He saw the two werewolves turn their heads slightly towards the front drive, the sound of an approaching car a low murmur in the distance.

Sasori glared at him as if he had said something stupid. “I don’t know anything about people food,” he snapped. “My neck hurts and my stomach still hurts and my head still hurts.”

“You shouldn’t have fallen asleep playing video games on the couch and had gone to bed when I told you to last night,” Itachi stated and Rose smirked a little behind Sasori’s back. He tried to reach out to Deidara to let him know that Chloe had arrived, but the door of his mind space that connected them wouldn’t budge.

Dahlia was watching Sasori with undisguised fascination as the small boy clenched his fists in rage. He seemed to be swelling to yell, but Itachi had no patience for his tantrums and gave him a poke in the forehead. “If you want something, you ask for it,” he told him walking passed Sasori towards the front of the castle. “Not demand it. Chloe is here,” he added, knowing Sasori would have followed him even though Rose was giggling from behind the safety of her mother.

“I want to go inside,” came Sasori’s irritated voice from behind him.

“Go inside.”

“I can’t,” Sasori growled, giving him a slide shove from behind that was too weak to even break Itachi’s stride. “It isn’t safe for me and you know it. You want them to kill me, don’t you? But you won’t do it yourself, you perfect, gentle idiot,” he mocked as Itachi stopped to face him. “Let the others do the dirty work.”

Itachi looked down at him wondering if he should even bother answering him. It wasn’t entirely true. Itachi didn’t want Sasori dead, but he certainly didn’t want him around. His aggressive and abusive nature wasn’t something Itachi wanted to allow and Deidara couldn’t stop. Part of him felt this transformation was karma built up against Sasori and a malicious part of him he suspected was from Deidara took pleasure in his struggles to survive simple human tasks like breathing and eating. Never would Itachi allow someone to actually hurt Sasori, no matter how much Itachi disliked him.

They were still glaring at one another when Chloe walked up, looking politely bemused at them. “Hi, Itachi,” she greeted, giving him an excuse to break eye contact.

“Hi, Chloe,” he said, smiling at her. “This is Sasori, Deidara’s Maker,” he added, gesturing to the redhead who shot a nasty look at the witch.

“Did you do this to me?” he demanded without preamble.

“No,” she said with a raised eyebrow. “I came to see if I could help you.”

Sasori gave a huff like an angry bull and Itachi turned to give him a look which he returned. “Do not be rude to my friend, Sasori,” Itachi told him.

“Witches are not people you become friends with,” the redhead said with such sneering malice, Itachi had to resist the urge to swat him upside the head.

Instead, he looked apologetically at Chloe. “I’m sorry,” he said sincerely.

“So, you’re Deidara’s Maker?” she asked taking his appearance in slowly from his bare feet to his too big clothes and glowering face. “I see where he gets his dislike of witches,” she added, though it was with a smile.

“None of you can be trusted,” Sasori growled. “You do anything for power.”

“As do vampires,” she said, but Itachi was relieved that she laughed and smiled at his apologetic expression. “Let’s go inside so you can rest your eyes.”

They walked the rest of the way to the front door, passed Chloe’s blue car and back into the house where Sasori finally took the hoodie off his head and rubbed his eyes. Itachi led them through the house to the library but stopped in the kitchen first to make Sasori more soup when he reminded Itachi, a little more politely, that he was still hungry. Chloe examined the bow still pinned to the top of the door frame of the library after Itachi had invited her inside while Sasori sat in his favorite chair sipping the broth and nibbling on a date he had taken from its jar on the counter. Itachi watched him seem to savor the fruit then went to pull the curtains closed and noticed him relax a little more.

When he was finished, Chloe approached him and sat down on the chair Itachi offered her. “May I examine your body?” she asked, resting her elbows on her crossed knees. 

Sasori eyed her suspiciously, but didn’t move.

“Why do you hate witches, Sasori?” Itachi asked, closing the last curtain and returning to them. “Did something happen?” His brown eyes looked up at Itachi and he saw a bitter rage in his eyes that he had only seen once before – when he had severed Sasori’s link to Deidara during the exchange of their souls. A vague memory came back to him from the year before and he sighed to relieve the tension that had built up and answered his own question, “A witch tried to take Deidara from you, right? That person is dead, and is not Chloe, who will not hurt you.”

Sasori looked back at Chloe, seeming to size her up and come to a decision. Chloe sat in the chair, her own hazel eyes much softer. Sam had described Chloe as someone who gave off even less threatening vibes than Itachi did, though Itachi was sure Chloe would be able to hold her own if threatened, and eventually Sasori moved to stand in front of her, removing the shirt he had taken from Itachi’s closet so that she could look him over. She did so silently, reaching out but not touching his skin as she did so except to lightly press the pads of her finger against his neck, feeling his new pulse. She stood and walked around him, and Sasori kept his brown eyes locked on Itachi’s face as if waiting for him to notice a hint of deception.

“Where is Deidara?” he asked after several long minutes of silence.

“I don’t know, somewhere in the castle,” Itachi answered.

Sasori’s head tilted to the side. “You don’t know?” he repeated suspiciously.

“He’s shut me out,” Itachi replied simply, annoyed at being distracted because he was finding Chloe’s work very interesting. Her mouth was moving slightly, but there were no words coming out. As Sasori opened his mouth to say something unpleasant, she touched a spot at the back of Sasori’s neck and his whole body went ridged and he half fell, half jumped away from her, clutching his head. Itachi caught him before he hit the ground. “What happened?”

A pained noise came out from between Sasori’s clenched teeth that sounded so pitiful, Itachi lifted him off the floor to comfort him. “What did you do?” Sasori demanded, holding his head as if it would explode. 

“I think a Witch’s Mark was placed on him before he arrived here,” Chloe said, placing the heel of her palm gently, but firmly on Sasori’s forehead then slowly pulled her hand away. Sasori visibly relaxed a little, and Itachi watched her rub her hands together as if she were gathering a cluster of loose hair to throw away. “There is a mark on the back of his neck. You can’t see it,” she added when Sasori reached back to feel the spot she had touched. “Sorry, it’s a Witch’s Mark… it is used as a way to gain victims from a distance, much like putting hair of someone in a doll. You must have run into her on your way here and didn’t realize it. That’s why your head as been hurting,” she told him.

“Take it off,” Sasori growled at her, rising to his feet again in a threatening manner – the threat lost by the distinctly human childishness of him.

“I can’t right now,” she apologized with a shake of her head. “It would take a lot of my power to do it, and she would know I did.”

“Can she control him then?” Itachi asked in concern, placing a hand on Sasori’s shoulder to stop him from exploding at the witch.

“No,” she answered confidently. “That sort of mark can only be connected to one spell. I don’t know why she placed it on him in the first place, maybe to try to control him – Sasori is an old and powerful vampire. Instead, she decided to use him to display the level of power she’s obtained. It’s a lot less impressive now knowing the mark was there.” She made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat that wasn’t like her at all, “using death magic to ‘heal the disease’,” she muttered under her breath. “Absurd. The vampire part of you is still in you,” she added, a little louder, “I think your body just thinks it’s human, but thinking is enough for any human body. I am surprised you can walk around during the day still though.”

“Sasori could always walk in the sun,” Itachi told her softly. "Old vampires can." 

“I am very old,” Sasori stated darkly then turned to pace away in front of the fireplace. Itachi watched him shiver a little and pull on Deidara’s hoodie though it wasn’t very cold out. Chloe looked at Itachi and he wondered what she was thinking about. “Is my blood human, or is it still vampire?” he asked suddenly, stopping his pacing to look at them with one of his expressions that let anyone know that he was no child as his body appeared to be.

“You are not going to use this to hurt Deidara again,” Itachi stated before Chloe could answer. “Is that why you were visiting?” he demanded, because the vampire hadn’t told them in the confusion of the spell. “To make us try to let you feed on him again?”

Sasori glowered at him more. “Deidara is mine. I can do what I like to him,” he growled. The deadly tone in his voice just as strong as it had been as a vampire.

“No, you can’t,” Itachi countered, not backing down though the threat Sasori presented grew in his anger. Something about the danger slipped through the closed barrier and Deidara was suddenly aware that something wasn’t right and Itachi finally knew where Deidara was. _‘It’s okay, don’t try to come,’_ he assured the vampire before he could get up from the dark tower room. _‘Sasori and I are talking to Chloe in the library.’_

Sasori jabbed a finger at Chloe instead. “You said ‘can’t’, but you mean ‘won’t’, don’t you?” he demanded of her.

Her eyes narrowed slightly at the rudely pointing finger and waved her hand as if warding something off. “I do,” she said simply. “There is a danger in my coven and I can’t waste my power and reveal that I’m working against her.” They watched him clench his fists in anger at not being their priority, but Chloe went on. “Has anything been wrong with him since the spell was cast?” she asked Itachi.

“He’s been sleeping a lot,” Itachi told her, as Sasori scoffed at them and went to go sit in his favorite chair, pulling out another date from his pocket to eat. “He threw up a lot yesterday, but I think it was because his body didn’t know how to process the food we gave him. The soup has been good, right?” he asked Sasori who gave a single nod then turned his chair to give them his back.

“It’s interesting that he chose dates to eat too,” she commented, giving Itachi a rueful smile at Sasori’s obvious ‘end of conversation’ gesture.

“Why?” Itachi asked, gesturing for her to sit back down.

“Because dates are really good for breaking fasts,” she told him, leaning back against the stuffed chair. “Muslims eat them often after their fasting time, so it’s just interesting that he chose dates out of all the fruit and snacks in that kitchen. I’m not sure why he’s sleeping so much, but if he’s very old, his body just might be exhausted and confused so it sleeps.”

Silence fell between them as they drifted into their thoughts. Itachi’s curiosity went back to Sasori and wondered about his unknown past. Perhaps he had chosen the date because some part of his distant conscious remembered eating dates. Deidara had told him Sasori lived in the desert, but there were many deserts so there might not be any connection. He did still want to know things that the vampire had known, but Sasori was less forthcoming with his stories this trip than the last time. During the long minutes, Chloe commented that she liked his library and he smiled, telling her it had been a present from Deidara who had collected the books when he was bored and wanted to learn something new, but never actually read them unless they were stories for kids. The child vampire came to the library not long after, forcing himself to walk through the halls to them even though he should have remained hidden from the sun at least another hour or so.

“Hi, Deidara,” Chloe greeted when he started to sit in Itachi’s chair too but was given a look that showed he had not been entirely forgiven for shutting him out.

“Hi,” he said distractedly, giving Itachi an unhappy look and sat down in another seat, closing his eyes to rest them. “Can you fix Sasori?”

“Yes, but not right now,” she said apologetically. “It would take too much of my power to undo what she did and I want to be able to defend myself when I do it.”

Deidara nodded in understanding, then looked over at Itachi unhappily. “I’m sorry,” he murmured quietly. “Markus is dead,” he said to the room at large.

“Good,” came Sasori’s grumble, though he didn’t turn around.

“So are some others,” he mumbled, looking away from Itachi.

“Good.”

“Did Itachi tell you what we talked about?” Chloe asked Deidara softly.

“Yeah,” Deidara told her, closing his eyes and leaning back against the back of the chair. “Sounds like fun.”

“We would be very grateful,” she told him sincerely, leaning forward a little. “Priscilla is still plotting the best place to start out so you have a basis of where to look, but, really Deidara… we’re so very grateful.”

“Look for what?” came Sasori’s voice from behind Deidara’s chair. He had gotten up and shuffled over to them.

“Nothing,” Deidara said, not looking at him.

“You’re going somewhere?” Sasori demanded, glaring at the Child Vampire as he tried to move into Deidaa’s line of vision, but the blond turned his head away from him again. “You can’t go anywhere when I’m like this.” He gave the blond’s head a shove when Deidara didn’t do anything but hunch his shoulders up to his ears uncomfortably. “You didn’t even think of me, did you?” he growled, reaching to grab a handful of the blond’s hair, but Itachi stood and stopped him from trying to hurt Deidara in retaliation.

“Stop it,” Itachi said firmly. “That’s enough. Deidara isn’t fighting you because you’re not strong enough now, but that doesn’t mean you can hit him when you’re mad. We didn’t forget about you.”

Sasori looked as though he wanted to hit Itachi instead, but thought better of it and let go of Deidara’s hair and yanked his hand out of Itachi’s. “I do not want to go anywhere with you two,” he snapped. “And you can’t leave me here.”

“Is that my hoodie?” Deidara asked suddenly, finally looking at his Maker.

Sasori fixed him with an imperious stare. “So?”

“Give it back, un,” Deidara demanded, standing up, the sun sunk low enough that he could move more easily now.

“No.”

Deidara grabbed the hoodie and yanked it over Sasori’s head and gave him a shove that knocked him back several feet onto the floor. It seemed to have hurt because it took him a moment to sit back up again, rubbing his elbow that had hit the ground and gave Deidara a nasty look, but the blond had climbed up to the second floor to get away from him, pulling the hoodie on over his tshirt. “That’s enough,” Itachi said softly. Sasori gave a noise of frustration, throwing the empty mug that had held his soup against the wall, and turned as if he would leave the room, but seemed to notice the darkening sky and changed his mind. Instead, he grabbed his shirt he had taken off and pulled it on as he stormed over to put in a video game in the corner.

“Goodness,” Chloe breathed softly, looking from one Child Vampire to the other. “Are they always like this?”

“Yes, but… no,” Itachi said rubbing his temples. “It’s usually worse but Deidara doesn’t want to hurt Sasori. But yeah, they are generally always like this.”

“Was my aunt right?” she asked, just as softly. “About Deidara’s change? That’s horrible,” she murmured when Itachi nodded. “Sasori did that?”

“Yes,” Itachi said, looking up at the vampire slowly climbing back down to them. “Sasori is a monster,” he whispered, knowing that Deidara could hear them, though Sasori couldn’t anymore. The blond dropped down on the chair behind Itachi and rubbed his forehead against his arm. “Are you okay?” he asked, reaching his arm around to pat the blond’s head.

“How are we gonna go do this for you,” he said to Chloe, “with Sasori like this? We can’t take him with us…”

“I could try to put him to sleep for a while,” she said thoughtfully.

“Really?” Deidara asked peering up at her. “Would I have to kiss him to wake him up, un?”

She laughed and so did he. “Probably not,” she said, “but we’ll want to keep him safe from the other vampires while you’re gone.”

“Thanks,” Deidara murmured. He gave a heavy sigh and climbed up on Itachi’s back. “Does Priscilla know where we’re supposed to start yet, un?”

“She’s been trying but she’s afraid with our aunt in the house,” Chloe said ringing her hands together. “Priscilla is fragile… the animosity is affecting her magic. All she keeps talking about climbing on the wolf.”

“We’re going to ride Rose into battle, un.”

“I hope not,” Rose said with a laugh as she walked into the library with a bundle in her arms. “I don’t think I can carry you guys. Hi, Sasori,” she said timidly but lightly, stopping by the sofa. “I brought you some clothes that should fit you, and also some pajamas to sleep in so you’ll be more comfortable.” 

“I don’t need them,” Sasori muttered, not taking his eyes away from the screen.

“Sure you do,” she said, placing a hand on her hip.

The redhead condescended to look at her and Deidara tensed, but Sasori only glared. “Why? You do not need to help me,” he snapped.

“Because right now I’m stronger than you, and stronger people take care of weaker ones,” Rose said stubbornly.

“Who told you that?” he sneered. “Your parents?”

“Of course,” she said, nose lifted defiantly. “Didn’t your parents teach you manners?”

“I don’t have parents, little puppy,” Sasori sneered again, turning back to his game.

“Everyone has parents,” she stated, then dropped her bundle on the sofa next to him. He stopped and turned around to stared at her as she walked away to tell Deidara that Jasper wanted to talk to him after the wolves had dinner.

“Sasori, if you hurt Rose, I really will kill you, un,” Deidara threatened when he noticed Sasori still staring after her.

“You said that to me once,” Sasori commented, still looking at the door.

“What?” Deidara asked, sliding off Itachi’s back and looking confused. “When?”

“When you were still human,” Sasori stated quietly, turning back to his game. “‘Everyone has parents, stupid’.” He gave a small laugh then went back to playing and the three behind him exchanged looks of confusion.

After Chloe left, Deidara went to visit Jasper after spending time whining at Itachi that he didn’t want to go. Itachi would have offered, but he knew the werewolf Alpha wouldn’t appreciate a stand in like the vampires did. Taking his phone from its charger, he left the library to return to his room. It was still early, but he thought he’d have a long soak in the tub because he had a feeling that he wouldn’t get to soak much after he and Deidara departed to find the grimoire for the Engels.

Predictably, there was a scramble behind him and Sasori followed him out with the armful of clothes Rose had given him. “Deidara’s DS is on the nightstand,” he told Sasori.

He didn’t wait for Sasori’s response as he walked into the bathroom, tossing his clothes into the hamper. He was getting tired of having Sasori following him around because it meant he had less time to spend with Deidara, but he understood why Sasori felt safer with him. After showering, he slipped into the huge porcelain tub with a sigh of contentment. After the library, he was quite certain that this tub was his favorite thing in the whole castle. The bathroom door opened as he was scrolling through Wikipedia to find a random page to read and, without so much as an ‘excuse me’, Sasori stripped off his clothes and sat down in the shower to scrub himself down than came to sit in the tub where Deidara always sat when they shared the bath together.

They stared at one another for an extremely long minute. “I think you’ve gotten ruder since you’ve been turned human,” Itachi stated with a sigh, knowing Deidara was going to be furious and territorial when he came back.

“Aren’t children supposed to have a bath before bed?” Sasori questioned, folding his arms under the water.

“It is nicer to ask,” he reminded him for what felt like the hundredth time. “Deidara is going to be very annoyed with you.”

“I don’t care,” Sasori told him, leaning back against the tub. “He is too possessive and overprotective of you.”

“You are also too possessive of him,” Itachi stated. “He is being very patient with you.”

“Only because he knows I would slaughter him if he takes advantage of me like this,” Sasori growled.

They continued to stare at one another for a long moment, then Itachi sighed and went back to the Wikipedia article on grimoires. He doubted the human knowledge of these things was accurate – for example, the article begins by insisting that a grimoire must be a book, but Chloe insisted the one they need is a stone – but he still wanted to be a little informed. He wished he could research the places they would be going, but of course, they didn’t know that yet. Priscilla’s statements about the dreams she had had of Itachi offered clues, but the only one that sounded as if it would offer something only turned out a google search for how to take your cat on an airplane. Meeting Death also seemed something to be concerned about, though he hoped it was a metaphor.

He looked up from his phone to ask Sasori something and saw him playing with the water by making small water funnels with his fingers. He had a vague thought of handing him the bath toys Deidara kept in here to entertain himself, but decided against it. “Sasori?”

“Hm?”

“Are dragons real?” he asked.

Sasori looked up at him with a curious frown. “Dragons are extinct,” he stated.

“So they are – were real?” Itachi repeated in surprised, sitting upright.

“They exist in mythology all over the world, of course they came from something,” Sasori replied in his usual scorn. “Well, they’re not really dragons.”

“What do you mean?”

“Dragons have four legs and wings,” he explained. “The proper word is wyvern, but they like the word dragon because it’s older, so they call themselves dragons too.” He watched the ex-vampire stretch his arms then slip under the water before coming up scrambling and choking because he’d forgotten he needed to breathe again. The redhead glared at him, but Itachi didn’t laugh, so he continued. “Dragons are very magical creatures who prefer solitude, so they generally live far enough from humans that their homes aren’t bothered, but close enough so that they can eat people when they want. But those types of places don’t exist in many places anymore, so the dragons have become extinct. The first one I saw was in Asia and was the size of a plane, the last one I saw was in Northern Africa several centuries ago and it was the size of a horse. Why?”

“Just wondering,” Itachi replied, but was saved from Sasori’s pressing by the door being shoved open and Deidara storming in.

“What are you doing?” he insisted, glaring at Sasori. When Sasori just gave him a look for asking such an obvious question, the blond grabbed Sasori and dragged him out of the water, dumping him onto the plush rug. “With Itachi!”

“It’s alright, Deidara,” Itachi said hurriedly before they started a fight again. “I’m finished.” He set his phone down on the shelf by his head and reached for a towel to give to Sasori who seemed more smug that he’d upset Deidara than he was angry at being roughly handled.

 _‘But I like taking baths with you, un,’_ whined the voice through their bond. Itachi smiled and dried himself off before going to his closet to pull on sleeping clothes. It was still early, the sun had only been gone for a few hours, but managing Sasori was as exhausting as worrying about Chloe so at least he would nap if he didn’t sleep through the whole night. Deidara climbed into the bed with him and snuggled up to his warm body. _‘I’m sorry I blocked you out, un… I just don’t like when you get nightmares about things I do. Let’s make him sleep somewhere else so we can have alone time, un~’_

 _‘You know we can’t, he won’t be safe,’_ Itachi told him, sliding his arm around the cooler body.

 _‘Jasper yelled at me,’_ Itachi couldn’t see Deidara’s face from where with was pressed against the curve of his neck, sniffing in the scent of himself he thought was so delicious, but he knew he was pouting. _‘He’s mad cause he thinks this is all going to be bad for the wolves if there’s a power struggle and attract the Shadow Hunters, and he’s furious that Rose was in danger. That wasn’t my fault, un!’_

 _‘It’s his job to worry about the pack,’_ Itachi reasoned softly as Deidara began nuzzling his nose against his ear then leaned up to give him a kiss.

“None of that,” came a grumbling snap from the foot of the bed. They turned to see Sasori making an attempt to climb up onto the tall bed without using the trunk as a step stool. Based on the pink and purple pajamas sporting prints of alpacas dancing, Rose’s attitude towards Sasori was generous, but not entirely forgiving, but Sasori chose to ignore Deidara’s amusement which seemed to radiate off of him. “Keep your hands off one another,” he added, finally managing to crawl across the bed to the side of the bed furthest from the door.

Deidara lifted his head to glare at Sasori, and shifted to wiggle his way over Itachi and into the space between him and his Maker. Sasori grumbled and pushed and shoved about the amount of space he now had and Itachi calmly wrapped his arms around Deidara to pull him back to his side of the bed.

“It’s alright,” he said softly when Deidara tried to protest. _‘Let’s just take a nap, I’ve been up a lot earlier than usual lately,’_ he murmured, reaching through their connection to wrap himself around the other. It was a low move, Itachi knew. He’d found it to be the best way to calm Deidara down because he loved affectionate gestures and the sharing of their souls was far more intimate than any physical gesture could be. Predictably, Deidara’s physical body went as limp as a noodle with a silly smile on his face, letting Itachi curl up against him to drift off to sleep without giving Sasori a second thought.


	7. Plans and Loss

“Croatia?” Deidara asked skeptically into Itachi’s phone.

“She said specifically Istria,” Mesi said on the other end, speaking so low a normal human wouldn’t have been able to hear her. From the noises his vampiric ears could pick up, she was in her own room in the main house and others were around. “She pointed it out on a map.”

“Isn’t that part of Austrian empire? What are you talking about Croatia for, un?”

“Austrian—? Deidara, how about coming back to the twenty-first century,” she said with a return to her normal snarky tone.

He bristled and sat upright in irritation. He didn’t like being mocked for not knowing things in the right order. Itachi stirred next to him in his sleep, so he tried to calm down least he wake him. When… when did the Austrian empire… “Where’s Chloe?” he grumbled. If he was going to talk to a witch he wanted it to be someone he at least liked.

“She’s working on the house,” Mesi said simply. “Let’s…see….” He heard a few clicks of a mouse in the background. “Right, anyway, so I looked it up on wiki after Priscilla showed me the map. And, get this, the mountain area of Učka used to be called something that translates to ‘wolf’.”

“Climb a wolf,” Deidara murmured, repeating Chloe’s words. How ironic.

Next to him, Itachi stirred again. “What’s wrong?” he murmured, stretching his legs out as he rolled over to face him.

“Nothing, un.”

“Is that Itachi?”

“Is that Chloe?” Itachi asked, lifting his head off the pillow. Deidara shook his head and Itachi sat up to rub his eyes, feeling through the soft mist their barrier became when he first woke up to figure out who was on the phone. He turned his head to look at the clock on the wall near the door. Deidara grinned sheepishly at him; he had been so comfortable, he had let Itachi sleep rather than nap. It was now two in the morning. “Hi, Mesi, what are you doing up so late?”

“There’s a scary monster in my house,” Mesi muttered quietly. “Not that I’m scared, you know. But I want to go back to being the nastiest witch in the house, okay.”

“You lost that title when you risked your aunt’s anger to save Sam and me,” Itachi told her, smiling a little as he laid his head against Deidara’s back.

“Don’t flirt with her,” Deidara grumbled. “Does Priscilla know anything else?”

“Just what she told Itachi in Chloe’s shop. Aunt Teresa’s on a bit of a rampage, she found out Chloe came to see you yesterday and both Chloe and Aunt Sonja are insisting that you guys are just clients, but they’ve been fighting all night,” Mesi muttered defensively. “Priscilla is scared, it’s not her fault her magic’s fluctuating.”

“We know,” Itachi said, when Deidara didn’t respond to that. Next to Itachi, Sasori made a noise and rolled over and the two of them stilled, but his Maker’s breathing didn’t change.

Deidara slid out of bed though he wanted to stay with Itachi’s warm body. He needed to move so that he could think. “So we know where to start then,” he said, trying to keep his voice low so as not to wake Sasori, “but I can’t leave Sasori here and I can’t take him with—”

“Oh, yeah Chloe told me about that,” Mesi interrupted. Over the speaker he heard a soft flumping noise and a wooden creak. He guessed she’d dropped herself onto the bed. “I think I can handle that. Enchanted sleep. Very fairytale, right?”

“Will I have to kiss him to wake him up, un?” he asked again.

“Is that a request?” she asked, her smirk audible. “He’s your Maker, right? Isn’t that some form of incest among vampires? Gross, Deidara.”

“Don’t throw my phone,” Itachi said warningly as he was about to do just that. _‘Ask her if there’s a way to put him to sleep without him knowing who did it,’_ Itachi voice fluttered into his mind like a soft breeze. _‘I don’t want him to hurt her if he’s angry about it.’_

Deidara relayed the question and listened to her musing aloud in a quiet nonsense manner. He continued to pace around the room because it helped him think, but still he wasn’t getting anywhere. Of course he wanted to take Itachi on vacation, but he wanted to go somewhere fun like somewhere with an amusement park. He wanted to go to Disneyland or Harry Potter World, not somewhere with old confusing history that Itachi would probably fall in love with and never want to leave. What did he know about Croatia? They wore red and white or black and blue jerseys in the World Cup and they won by amazing penalty kicks in the round of 16 and quarter finals after playing so hard, but they lost to France in the final. Itachi wouldn’t care about that though. He’d probably care that Deidara thought the Austrian Empire was still in control. Maybe he could get a history book for Itachi to read so that he’d tell him all about it.

“We could lie and say it was Aunt Teresa,” Mesi finally suggested, sounding as if she was only partially joking.

“Sasori can usually see through lies, un,” he grumbled quietly, turning to look at the boy still sound asleep next to Itachi.

“He’s never heard one of mine,” she snorted. “Just let me know when you need it and I’m good for it.”

Deidara hung up and started to pace again, hands stuffed in his hoodie. He didn’t like how too much was happening at once. Sasori, the witches, Markus. The nagging part of him that was Itachi was telling him they couldn’t leave to help the witches with his household in disarray, but he just wanted to leave, do something. Sasori… He stopped pacing and turned to the bed where Itachi was still sitting, waiting patiently for him to finish his thinking. He climbed up onto the bed to crouch next to Sasori, reaching out to gently push his hair off his forehead. He hated this. He should just kill Saori and save them all so much trouble, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Even now as his fingers itched to close over the now fragile neck, he knew it would take so little effort to snap it, but Sasori was his Maker. He took care of him when he was scared and traumatized by the Change, he taught him how to control his urges and they played together. They traveled and learned new things, saw people and watched games. Sasori had been with him every step of his vampiric life, he couldn’t just end that. But Sasori was not just his friend, he was his tormentor…

“Deidara, it’s okay that you can’t kill him,” Itachi said quietly, reaching out to touch his hand.

“I should,” he murmured quietly. “He’s a monster.”

“Yeah, he is,” Itachi agreed, giving his hoodie a tug to invited Deidara to lean back against him. He looked up at his human miserably and Itachi gave him an understanding smile. He was about to lean up to kiss Itachi when there was a knock on the door and he made an unhappy face.

Belle stood outside the door, her hands folded comfortably over her well-tailored suit. He suddenly felt the weight of a disappointed professor staring down at him, though waiting patiently for the wrong doer to explain himself. Behind her was one of her humans who Deidara was sure would eventually be turned into a vampire. Anita stood down the hall, clearly interested in the same thing Belle wanted, but not as brave at chastising him as Belle was. He couldn’t help the sheepish grin that came over his face at their appearance.

“Markus is dead,” Belle stated when the silence stretched. “And so are three others.”

Behind him, he heard Itachi sliding out of bed and pull on a dressing gown to join him at the door, but he didn’t invite them inside. “They attacked Sasori,” Deidara stated with firm authority. “They also endangered Rose, un.”

“Hm,” she responded simply, staring down at him as she seemed to mull his reasoning over in her mind. “Did Sasori aggravate them?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” Deidara responded haughtily. “It doesn’t matter.”

“That is true,” she said, then heaved a sigh. “Please explain to us what is going on. You did choose me to be your second in command, did you not?”

Deidara glanced back at Itachi who approached to explain, “There is a power struggle with the Engel coven, and they’ve requested Deidara’s help. One of them cast a spell on Sasori to demonstrate their magic, but Chloe says it’s a false show of power. It’s still left Sasori vulnerable.”

Belle made a soft thinking noise, her eyes drifting into the room to the prone figure on the bed, then looked back at the man behind her. “Please return to our suite, Pierre,” she said in French.

“Yes, Ma’am,” he responded and walked back down the hallway, taking the path that didn’t go in front of Rose’s room.

“You still killed one of our own,” Anita growled quietly. “You ca—”

“I can kill whoever I want, un,” Deidara snarled at her. “Maybe you need to go back to working for another Master of the City to remember that I’m much more patient than other Masters.”

Anita growled at him and Deidara growled back louder, his strength as intimidating as Jasper’s when he wanted it to be. Itachi held his hands out to calm them down. “This is a difficult situation, but we cannot keep arguing among ourselves. The barrier keeps us safe in here from the Shadow Hunters, but that doesn’t mean we can just sit here arguing and fighting together. Markus attacked a guest, I heard him say that he couldn’t help himself, which is dangerous for anyone here. He put Rose in danger when she tried to stop him. It is unacceptable.” Deidara nodded his agreement and folded his arms aggressively. 

“And you’re planning on helping the witches with their power struggle?” Anita demanded, not entirely backing down. “So you’re leaving? Again?”

Belle turned slightly to face her, eyeing the other vampire coolly. “Deidara is welcome to come and go as he pleases,” she said firmly. “We have a very good arrangement. I will not permit you to threaten that.”

Anita inhaled slightly, but thought better of her argument and turned to follow after Pierre down the hallway. Belle looked after her, then turned to face Deidara again. “Getting on the coven’s good side?” she suggested with a small smile. “Repaying their generous gifts to us?”

“Yeah,” Deidara grumbled, staring down the hallway after Anita. Why were all adult vampires so aggressive about things? Markus might have been an older vampire, but vampires weren’t packs. Members of households weren’t treasured members. Everyone did their jobs, that was it. They weren’t friends.

“When are you leaving?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Deidara mumbled. “I have to figure out what to do with Sasori first, un…”

“Would you like me to kill him for you?” she asked.

He heard Itachi take the quietest of sharp intakes and felt that confusion swell in him again. “No,” he finally said heavily.

“Understandable,” she said, reaching out to possibly pat his shoulder consolingly, but was stopped by the barrier in Itachi’s room. Her eyes outlined the door, but didn’t comment on it. “Please let me know if there’s anything I can do,” she added instead. “In your absence, I will, of course, keep our alliance with the wolves intact to the best of my abilities. And… if needed…” her voice trailed away to look into the room again at the bed. Deidara waited for her to make a comment about Sasori, but Belle was the type of person who only wanted to know what she needed to know which is what he liked about her. She concluded that she did not need to know and smiled at Deidara again. “Anything that is needed.”

“Thank you, Belle,” Itachi said. She nodded to each then went away with an expression that seemed thoughtful. Deidara didn’t think she was all that concerned that Markus was dead.

“Look at him,” Deidara muttered as he turned back to look at the bed too. “Sleeping through the whole thing, un.”

“If Mesi really can put him to sleep for the entire time we’re gone, he’ll probably be safe in my room,” Itachi commented, rolling his neck to loosen a muscle that had tightened in his sleep. Deidara stared at the muscle for a moment, hearing the beating of Itachi’s heart pumping blood through his body. He shook his head to stop focusing on it.

“But it’s your room,” he grumbled bitterly.

“The wolf pups use the library to study,” Itachi reminded him. “I want them to keep using it. Even if you have a space in the castle that is hidden for your Suntime death to keep him in, it’s not as safe as this room.”

Deidara made a grumbling noise, knowing that was true, even though he didn’t trust the magic Chloe had given his human. He thought about Itachi’s conversation with Chloe and Sasori earlier that had filtered through their connection. Sasori probably had come to try feeding on Deidara again, which made Deidara angry for different reasons. Itachi didn’t like that Sasori still considered him Sasori’s property and wanted to feed on him selfishly again, but it made Deidara angry because it involved hurting Itachi to try. He hissed a little and paced around the bed again, but Sasori slept on.

“What do you know about Croatia?” Itachi asked after a moment of silence.

“It isn’t part of the Austrian Empire anymore and they had the best jersey’s and was second place in the last world cup, un,” he said, glancing back at Itachi guiltily.

“How are you able to remember nearly every game you’ve ever seen, but you can’t remember simple history facts that you actually lived through?” Itachi asked with halfhearted scorn.

“History is boring, un?” he offered with a grin. “It’s not history when you live through it.” He leapt onto Itachi’s back and wiggled playfully. “Let’s go book a flight, un! Or do you want to take the long way?”

“The long way will be dangerous for you,” Itachi said, shifting slightly so he could put the blond down on the ground. Pouting, he followed his human into the closet room to get dressed. He grinned a little as Itachi hung his bathrobe up and pulled off his sleeping shirt and watched the muscles of his back move. Itachi had been working out with the werewolves because of the danger of going out into the city without protection. He had wanted to be strong enough to defend himself in a fight if he needed, learning from one of the Denmark wolves who had been a police officer who had learned how to take people down without hurting them with his superior strength. It had made Itachi so much stronger, which was safer, but also made his scent so much more stronger than it had been before.

Without realizing what he was doing, he had moved closer and sunk his teeth into the meat of Itachi’s neck and a gush of the thick, delicious blood poured into his mouth. His ears picked up Itachi’s strangled gasping moan and together they fell to the ground before he removed his teeth and scrambled around to face him. “Sorry,” he gasped softly, holding his hands out to catch Itachi if he was about to fall. “Sorry,” he crooned again, licking his lips to make sure that not a single drop of Itachi’s delicious, most precious blood. “I couldn’t help myself, un… you smell so good.”

“You’re supposed to ask first,” Itachi muttered, rubbing his neck where he’d bitten him, but the mark was already healed. 

“I know, I’m sorry,” he whined, sucking on his lip in case there was something left there. “You just smell so delicious, un.” Sometimes, it was so hard to resist Itachi’s blood, which was why he felt sympathy for Sasori at times. He sat on the floor feeling slightly ashamed of himself as Itachi stood up and mumbled that he was going to clean himself off and went into the bathroom.

“Damnit,” he muttered, rolling onto his back. Now Itachi wouldn’t let him have any fun times for a while and it had been getting so hard to find time to have fun times. He groaned at himself and rolled back and forth on his back then got up to pull on a pair of jeans he had left for himself and one of Itachi’s tshirts then dug through Itachi’s clothes and had an outfit to hold out for him meekly when he returned. “I’m sorry, I’ll try harder,” he said, hunching his shoulders while Itachi dressed.

“Deidara,” Itachi said with soft firmness. “I would let you feed from me if you _asked_ first.”

“I know,” he muttered back, scuffing his feet against the rug that was laid down on the closet’s floor to protect feet from the cool wood below. “Can… we go reserve a flight now, un?”

“Yes,” Itachi said. Deidara looked up in time to see him pull his long black hair into a ponytail and walk out and his shoulder’s slumped, unhappy that Itachi was upset with him. Before he reached the door though, his human looked back at him and knelt down in a position to catch him if he jumped on his back and he happily rushed over to do so, riding piggyback out into the hallway.

“Do I need to get a passport?” Itachi asked as they walked down the hallway to stop in the kitchen for Itachi to get breakfast. Deidara waited for Itachi to indicate he wanted him to get down, but he didn’t say anything while he cooked himself breakfast and carried it and him to the library.

“No,” he told him, finally sliding off his back and picked up Itachi’s laptop so he could look at flights. “I got you… one… a few…” he looked sheepish as Itachi gave him another one of his looks, “months ago, un. Just in case, you know… I used a good picture, un. It’s not going to get flagged or anything, we vampires are hella good at making new papers, okay? We gotta be. It’d be a bit weird if I used my same info for a hundred years, un.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Itachi said as he ate. “You still could have told me.”

“I wanted to bring them out in case of emergency, like, ah-ha,” he made a gesture of triumph with his hands. “Come on… once upon a time, that would have impressed you, un… I can’t even scare you anymore.”

Itachi gave a soft chuckle and drank his coffee. “Don’t forget, we’re taking Sam with us,” he told him.

“We are?” he asked in surprise.

“Priscilla said we should take Sam with us,” he told him.

“Oh, well,” he said playing with his hair. “I guess we could take her, un…”

“I know you wanted to go alone with me,” Itachi told him, reaching out to pat his leg. “Maybe she’ll find a friend on the trip.”

“Oh!” he said more enthusiastic. “That’s a good idea, un! Also, Sam can drive, which will probably be helpful.”

“One day, I will learn how to drive,” Itachi told him firmly.

“But not today,” Deidara replied grumpily.

They were silent for the remainder of the night, Itachi studying the list of sentences and new vocabulary in French that Belle had left for him to practice – so far, he told Deidara that he not a fan of gendered languages – and Deidara playing in his computer. Deidara had emailed Sam who had agreed to go with them and spent a long time going through flights to find one that would depart and arrive during sundown. He could never decide if modern travel methods were better than the old ones. He supposed they were certainly faster, but you could always sleep on a train with private cars without worrying someone would open their windows for no reason like they did on planes. He remembered his first trip across the Atlantic in a ship to the Americas and grinned. That had been a fun trip, but it was too late to tell it to Itachi. The sun was already beginning to rise and he couldn’t leave the library now so he climbed up to one of the dark towers where the oldest books were and curled up in one of the stuffed chairs to spend the day, happy to know that he could be near Itachi during the day and that Sasori couldn’t smell him out anymore if he came to find him. He was giggling to himself at the knowledge that he could finally hide from Sasori when he heard Itachi greeting someone at the door.

He heard Wes’s voice and turning his head slightly to be able to hear better, but the sun was dulling his vision and he could no longer see the different colors of the hardwood of the libraries, the colors of the books, and Wes’s blue eyes were dull as death as he came up the steps to join him. He hated daytime.

“Hello, Deidara,” Wes said, kneeling down next to the chair. “Sorry to bother you during the day.”

“It’s okay,” he wheezed out exhaustedly, his lungs feeling like they were full of sand. “What’s wrong, un?”

“Nothing that you can change, Junger Meister,” Wes said, though he sighed deeply after he said. “There’s something I’d like to talk to you about.” The blond made a questioning sound, unable to bring himself to make much of an effort to speak, frustrated that he couldn’t see Wes very well. He missed so many things when he couldn’t see. “I have worked for many vampires who ran this estate for many years. You are the best Master I’ve worked for, but I think it’s time for me to depart.”

Deidara blinked again and lifted his head, even though it was painful to do so. His heart didn’t beat, but it felt like it stopped all over again.

“I know, I don’t want to leave you either,” Wes continued in his soft, gentle voice, his hand coming up to place it on Deidara’s head, rubbing it in a calming way that did not work at all. “Ever since I was in that tree… It’s hard to explain. You don’t really understand what it’s like to be a tree, until you are one. I am happy that I got to see you again, but… I don’t want to be outside the tree. It’s not the tree’s fault, it… it was just trying to help, but… ever since then, I can’t live like this anymore. I want to go back in the tree.”

He gripped the chair, trying to work his muscles to sit up, his whole body shaking not only with the effort but emotion that surged through him. “But,” he began, his breathes coming out fast and sharp, “I don’t want you to go, un…”

“I know,” Wes told him, giving him a warm smile. “But you told me I could leave when I wanted. You promised.”

“But, you’ll die, un,” he cried out, feeling himself beginning to panic because he couldn’t make his body move.

“Perhaps,” he replied softly. “But I’ll be inside the tree and that’s where I want to be. I’ve written a letter to Sam and Jack and Rose explaining, but I wanted to say goodbye to you. Serving you has been a pleaser, Junger Meister. I am sorry that I am not brave enough to tell you when the sun is down when you could stop me.” He gave Deidara’s horrified face a gentle pat and stood to leave, taking the spiral steps easily for an older man. Despite his appearances, vampire blood kept his body much younger than aged man who had worked on the castle grounds for many lives of men.

“No,” Deidara croaked out, trying to stand but his muscles weren’t strong enough to stand in the daytime and he hadn’t fed properly in a few days. He fell out of the chair onto the floor heavily. “No! No! Itachi! Stop him, un!” he screamed, gripping the fibers of the rug to drag himself closer to the stairs.

Below, Itachi had stood from his desk, looking at them with tears streaming down his face. Deidara called Wes again, demanding that he came back then screamed down at Itachi to stop him again. His human stepped forward towards Wes, a miserable expression on his face. Wes stopped beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You cannot stop me, Itachi,” Wes told him, giving him a sad smile. “This is my choice and though it is hard, he understands that. It has been a pleasure meeting you. Please, take care of them for me.”

“I will,” Itachi said in a quiet voice, seeming to realize that he was crying and reached up to wipe his eyes.

Wes gave him a wider smile. “Thank you for crying the tears that Deidara cannot shed,” he added, giving his shoulder a pat and then walked around him to leave. Itachi turned to watch him go, ignoring the blond begging him to go after him then climbed the stairs to sit next to him, his head resting on his knees as he placed a comforting hand on Deidara’s back.

“Go stop him,” he sobbed, pressing his forehead against the floor.

“I can’t,” Itachi replied thickly, sniffing quietly. “It’s his choice, Deidara… We can’t stop him.”

He gave a furious roar into the floor that made his whole body ache even more than the death the sun caused him and it ended in a soft cry. “Why…”

“I don’t know,” Itachi murmured, running his hand up and down his back. The touch felt nice, but didn’t lessen his misery.

“Why are you crying, un?” he demanded miserably, his fingers gripping the beautiful rug below him.

Itachi was silent for a moment seeming to assess himself, then took a deep, shuddering breath. “I’m not… I think it’s you who’s crying,” he told him in a gentle voice.

They sat in mournful silence together, Deidara making a soft sad noise as he felt the slight connection that was Wes leave him, knowing it meant he was gone for good. The door was slammed open a few hours later and Sasori entered, demanding to know why he had been left alone and where his breakfast was, but when he finally spotted them, he frowned and came up the stairs to stare at the two of them. “What is wrong with you?” he asked, though his tone was less aggressive than it had been.

Not wanting to be made fun of Deidara didn’t answer and neither did Itachi, still petting his back in a soothing way. He couldn’t stop the soft, sad sound that came out at the question and he kept his face pressed against the floor. To his surprise, Sasori sat down on his other side and leaned a shoulder against the wrought iron railing in silence for a few moments. “You shouldn’t have tried to move so much during the day,” he said in a mumble Deidara could barely hear. Deidara cringed a little, hating when Sasori was understanding rather than critical. It made it difficult to remain angry at him when he was horrible to him.

After another long moment of silence, Itachi lifted his head and wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his shirt. He carefully picked Deidara up and brought him back to the chair, taking the throw blanket from the back of the chair and wrapping him up in it. Sasori came over and wedged himself into the chair with him, uncharacteristically silent. “I’ll get you something to eat,” Itachi told Sasori, leaving the two of them alone as he left the room, still sniffing in a quiet way that made Deidara sure he didn’t want anyone to know he had been crying.

“Did you lose someone?” Sasori asked in a soft voice, shifting so he was half on top of the blond. It was strange, feeling the warmth from the body that was more familiar than Itachi’s was. He gave a short nod, still worried about being made fun of, but Sasori only gave a soft sigh and settled against him, rubbing the edge of the blanket between his fingers, a comfort to the blond as a wolfish howl of despair echoed on the stone walls of the castle.


	8. The Quest's Start

It was a good thing he hadn’t been able to find an itinerary until the following week. The loss of Wes hit the household rather hard. He had been working on the grounds far longer than any of them had lived there, even Belle who had worked under the previous Master of the City. Usually humans weren’t able to last so long with their lives being stretched out by vampire blood, but Wes’s simple garden life seemed to not have stretched him as much as other humans. Deidara remembered meeting him when he had been exploring the castle after murdering the previous Master, discovering all its secret passages and hidden stairwells. He had killed the previous Master’s humans. The Master hadn’t cared for them well, but they had been addicted to the vampires blood and crazed when their vampire had died. It had sickened him to see them crawling on the floor trying to save some of the blood spilled. Wes had been different. Deidara had found his way into the garden, playing hopscotch on the stone pathways, chanting the magpie rhyme with each step, when he turned the corner and found a man kneeling on the ground while pruning a lilac.

_One for sorrow. Two for joy. Three for a girl. Four for a boy._

He could tell by the smell that this was a human who had tasted vampire blood, but he had seemed different from the others. A sadness seemed to cling to him, but his hands were very gentle on the plants as he watched Deidara approach. He had politely asked where he was from, thinking he was foreign because he’d been chanting in English rather than German. Deidara had responded in German that he was from the village nearby that had grown into a city, but he had learned the song from a couple of children playing in the streets of England. 

_Five for silver. Six for gold._

Realizing he was a vampire, the garden had placed his tools down and stood before him, requesting that when he gathers his own humans would he, please, have a gardener among them who would take care of all the plants he had raised like children for decades. Instead of killing him, he invited him to be one of his humans and keep taking care of the gardens and the gardener had introduced himself as Wes Lehmann and thanked him for letting him continue to take care of his plants.

_Seven for a secret, Never to be told…_

He wondered who would take care of Wes’s plants now that he was gone.

When the sun finally set, Deidara walked outside to sit at the base of the thick oak tree and stare up at the trunk and its branches that stretched down to invite climbers. Sam was sitting under its branches as if she’d been there quite a while with Itachi, bundles of flowers laid out between them and the tree with her arms wrapped around her knees. She was no longer crying but her eyes were puffy and red. She sighed thickly and lifted her head from Itachi’s shoulder when Deidara approached.

“Wes said that he liked being in the tree,” she said quietly. “That he wanted to be in the tree again… I’m sad he’s gone, but I think he would be really happy to end up in nature.”

“Yeah, perhaps,” Itachi said when Deidara didn’t say anything.

“Did you hear the wolves howling all afternoon?” Sam asked in a soft voice. “It was so sad… I don’t think the packs will be able to stop the kids from climbing the tree anymore. Look at all these flowers they brought from the gardens… I think they thought he would miss his flowers.”

“Maybe we can plant some things around the tree so he wont miss them as much,” Itachi suggested.

“That sounds nice,” Sam said softly. “Thanks for inviting me to go with you guys… I don’t think I could manage on my own if you left now… Where are we going?”

“Croatia,” Itachi replied when Deidara still didn’t answer. After another breath of silence, he added, “which is not part of the Austrian Empire anymore.”

“What?” she asked in confusion.

Deidara growled a little and gave Itachi a dark look. “Deidara is a little behind the times, and thought Istria was part of the Austrian Empire still,” his human replied with a slight smile on his face. He felt through their connection that Itachi was trying to make Sam feel better and it seemed to work because she gave a weak little giggle. He wished it hadn’t been at his expense.

“Sucks when someone who lived through history was too busy playing games, isn’t it?” Sam said, heaving a sigh. “He can tell you everything about early airplanes and pirate ships and every single sporting event he’s ever been to, but not who president of the United States or even who runs Germany right now.”

“I do too know who runs Germany right now, un,” Deidara growled, standing up and walking to the other side of the tree so he didn’t have to be the point of their lightened mood anymore. He could still hear them talking though, planning what sort of plants they were going to put under the tree and what sort of things they should pack on their trip and what they should look at while they were there. After a while, Belle came out, then Anita, and their humans came out to pay their respects. Deidara didn’t want them all there. He didn’t know how to handle losing so many of his humans so fast and the other vampires might see it as a sign of weakness. First Jack moved away for school, then Kit’s betrayal and death, now Wes… He looked at Itachi and Sam from around the tree, fear gripping him temporarily at the worry that they would leave him too, and pulled back before either of them saw them him looking. Getting up off the grass, he reached for one of the lower hanging branches and climbed up.

“You take care of him, or I’ll cut you down, un,” he growled under his breath at the tree. Something tickled his face and he turned, seeing a smaller branch brushing his cheek in what may have been an affectionate way. “Very creepy,” he added. “You keep that up and the wolves won’t let the kids climb on you anymore.”

The twigs tangled in his hair to tug then pulled away.

He felt a pulse of magic press up against his back and he dropped down to the ground lightly. Itachi looked up alert to the magic as well. “Someone is at the gate, un,” he stated and one of Anita’s humans jogged around the stone garden walls to the drive.

A few moments later, Anita’s phone rang and she answered it. “It is the witches,” she told him. “Chloe and Mesi Engel.”

“I temporary invite Chloe and Mesi through the barrier for this visit, un,” Deidara stated to no one in particular as Itachi stood. He held his hand out hopefully and Itachi took it and he resisted a giggle of glee. It was so rare that Itachi held his hand in front of other people. Itachi paused to look back at the tree, waiting to see if Sam would follow but she didn’t get up as fresh tears slid down her face as she gazed up at the tree, so they kept walking. Deidara could feel his sadness for his friend who had now lost two from her family through their bond.

They met the two witches at the front door. Chloe was putting the car in park as Mesi stepped out. The latter seemed to be fumbling with something in her hands, and not very interested in greeting them. In the dark, he could see string tied in loops around her fingers like a Cat’s Cradle game he had played long ago. She continued to twist and make more loops between her fingers as Chloe said hello to them.

“Are you alright?” Itachi asked immediately, looking from one to the other, then did a doubletake on Mesi, staring at the thing in her hands. That alone let Deidara know Mesi wasn’t playing a game, but working magic. “Did something happen?”

“No,” Chloe said with a smile, but Deidara didn’t think the smile reached her eyes. “Mesi has figured out a way to make Sasori sleep while you’re gone. I think he should be in a place that no one can break into during that time, so there won’t need to be any guard on him.”

“We decided on my room,” Itachi said, looking interestedly at Mesi’s hands again. “He might be there now, or in the library.”

“Am I going to have to kiss Sasori to wake him up when we get back, un,” Deidara asked jokingly.

“Yep,” Mesi said with a devilish smirk. “Just like you requested.”

“It wasn’t a request, un!” he cried in complete horror.

“Sure, it wasn’t,” she said humming out a laugh. “You vampires have such a weird relationships with your Makers, don’t you? And we witches are the one who get accused of being sluts. Not fair.”

Deidara sputtered nonsensically, unable to think of something to respond to this statement. Was she insinuating that he wanted to kiss Sasori or have sex with his Maker? Itachi glanced at him with a raised an eyebrow and his shoulders hunched up to his ears. “What?” he demanded accusingly.

“I don’t think you’re going to convince her that you haven’t had sex with Sasori at some point in your life,” Itachi stated and Mesi threw her head back to howl with laughter.

“Do you know when you’re leaving?” Chloe asked as they walked through the heavy wooden front doors.

Deidara refused to speak to any of them as he stormed ahead of them up the grand staircase, and instead Itachi told them about the flight and going with Sam. He also told them that Wes had gone, but was vague about what happened to him. He couldn’t hear what Chloe said but it sounded consoling as he kicked in the door to the library.

“Sasori!” he snapped, staring around. “I’m not kissing you, un!”

His Maker, who was sitting on the sofa playing a video game, jumped and stared angrily at him. “I don’t want you to,” he snapped back, looking disgusted. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as Itachi walked in with the two witches. “Are you here to fix me?”

“Not yet,” Chloe said looking over at him carefully. “Is your head feeling better? Food is staying down?”

He gave a deep inhale, still eyeing her with great suspicion, but finally turned his head back to his game. “It is hurting less. I am eating a lot of soup, but Itachi won’t let me eat anything else except fruit. I want to taste ice cream, but he will not buy any.”

“Ice cream is for good boys,” Mesi said, grinning at him. “I don’t think you are good boy.” 

Sasori made a scathing sound and gave them his back, stepping out of the conversation entirely. “Hang on,” Deidara said suddenly, turning to face the witches, voice lowered so Sasori couldn’t hear. “Why are you putting it on him now, can’t we wait until we’re going to leave, un?”

“Cause I didn’t know when you were planning on leaving, so I decided to just make it now,” Mesi said, making a face at him to let him know she thought he was being ungrateful. “Don’t worry, once the spell’s on him, you could just drop him on the floor here and walk all over him, he won’t wake up.”

“Don’t give him ideas,” Itachi said softly, and Deidara grinned.

“So, how’s it work then?” Deidara asked curiously.

Mesi gave him a playful wink and a grin then sauntered over to Sasori’s couch. “So, you’re Deidara’s Maker?” she asked.

Sasori grunted in response.

“You’re a lot younger looking than I thought,” she continued, twisting the looped string a few more times, making the design that stretched between them even more intricate. “You look almost younger than the kiddie wolf. How old are you?”

“I don’t know,” he stated, not taking his eyes off the tv. 

She sat down next to him. “Hey,” she said in the familiar coy voice she used to turn people’s heads. It didn’t work on Sasori. “Look at me,” she added in a croon. Deidara could see Sasori’s shoulders hunch very slightly, seeming to debate whether or not to condescend to look at her. He finally did. “Do you like my Cat’s Cradle?”

Sasori looked it over critically, though he still looked annoyed at being distracted from his game. “I have not seen that design,” he stated, which was Sasori’s way of being slightly interested. His Maker liked games as much as he did.

“Wanna wear it?”

Looking thoroughly irritable now, he paused and saved his game, then put the controller down. “Why would I want to wear it?” he asked, glaring at her.

She smiled and held out her hands so that they bordered Sasori’s head, the design of string wrapping across his face. The loops attached to her fingers slid off them on their own and wrapped around his ears like a face mask. Deidara wrinkled his nose at the smell of magic rushing into the room as Sasori made a startled sound, reaching up to grab the mask, but almost immediately his eyes fluttered, and he slumped back against the cushions.

“There we go,” she said happily. “Like he pricked his finger. Just needs a prince to wake him up,” she added, grinning at Deidara. “I hope I’m here to see it.”

Deidara made a disgusted noise and went over to observe his Maker, who seemed unharmed but sleeping. It still felt strange to smell Sasori’s familiar scent, but having it smell so different at the same time. He was used to the presence between their minds when they were together, but silence from their bodies. Sasori’s beating heart sounded so loud in his ears, but he looked so innocent and … alive. “Oh, no,” he said suddenly, slapping his hand over his face. “If Sasori’s sleeping and the safe place is in Itachi’s room, where’s Itachi going to sleep, un?”

“Gee, in this big old castle?” Mesi asked, crossing her leg over her knee. “Must be so hard to be loaded, Meister Deidara. How _ever_ are you going to survive?”

“Itachi can’t sleep in the library,” he growled dangerously.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Itachi hold his hand out to him to tell him to calm down and that they’d deal with it later. “Do we have to do anything for him while he’s asleep?” Itachi asked. He was still standing by the door with Chloe, watching the other three interact.

“No,” Chloe told him, giving her hand a slight wave. “Nothing different than if he was really sleeping… Keep him warm, things like that. He’ll literally be like Sleeping Beauty, or Snow White.”

“And Deidara has to kiss him,” Mesi said, putting her arm around Sasori’s shoulders. “Though, I don’t know, maybe Itachi could too. Hard to say with you two. The usual magic doesn’t always work with you.” She gave another snicker. “Is that some kink of yours, Dei? Watching Itachi kiss your M—”

“Shut the hell up, Mesi, un,” Deidara growled angrily, shoving passed her to pick up Sasori’s limp body protectively. “Don’t touch him.”

“I never got that love between vampire and their Makers,” he could hear Mesi saying as he stormed out of the room to put Sasori somewhere the witches couldn’t harass him while he slept. “Do you understand it, Itachi?”

“Not really, but Deidara doesn’t like people taking advantage of others,” Itachi replied, but he didn’t hear either of their responses. One of the things he liked best about Itachi was that he understood a lot of things about himself that Deidara couldn’t always explain and knew what to tell other people and what to keep between the two of them.

He carried Sasori to Itachi’s room, annoyed that they weren’t able to plan for this better. Deidara was terrible at planning for things, but it felt as if things were just getting thrown at him. His eyes drifted down to Sasori’s face as he walked, eyes closed and peaceful behind the mask the Cat’s Cradle had made across his face. He paused in his steps to Itachi’s room, staring down at him unhappily. He barely remembered the details of the torture Sasori had him under when he kept him as a human, though the fear and pain stayed with him. He could take revenge if he wanted, it would be so easy, but he couldn’t do it. He sighed miserably and shifted his hold before going into Itachi’s room and placing him at the foot of the bed.

They should have gotten a cot or something to keep here so Itachi could have his bed back, but he knew Sasori wouldn’t have slept in it anyway. Maybe they could get a dog bed to put him in.

He giggled at the thought of how pissed Sasori would be if he woke up and found they had put him in a dog’s bed.

Itachi entered the room, coming up to the bed next to him and sighed softly. “Are you alright?” he asked quietly.

“I’m just worried about him, un,” he said just as quietly, staring down at his Maker.

Itachi was about to say something else, when there was a large pulse of magic and Itachi began rubbing the back of his neck as if someone had flicked it. They both turned to look at the door where the two witches stood, Chloe waiting outside the barrier and Mesi, having not known the barrier was there, looking ruffled and brushing nothing he could see off her arms. “Ouch, you have a barrier in your own room too?” she asked, glancing back at Chloe. “So paranoid… Let me in, Itachi~”

“No,” they both said at the same time. Itachi continued, “this is the last safe place in the house. I can’t let anyone inside. I’m sorry.”

“Boo, Itachi, you’re such a downer,” she said, taking a step away from the door.

“How are you going to keep your aunt from taking over while we’re gone?” Itachi asked, taking few step towards them so they weren’t speaking from across a room.

Mesi looked at Chloe again and she rubbed her hands together. “I’m not sure,” Chloe replied. “There will be fighting… I don’t want to kill my aunt, but that may be the only thing to stop it. If that happens, I don’t know… Teresa uses blood magic, which my family doesn’t follow, but some might…”

“Think it looks kinda bad ass,” Mesi finished, hands going to her hips. “Shame we can’t like… whack her. Your mom probably wants to, though.”

“She won’t. Unless she has to,” Chloe stated, wrapping her cardigan tighter around herself. “The others who think the Matriarch should be the most powerful won’t back Mother unless she can display more powerful magic.”

“And…” Itachi began, then hesitated, unhappy with what he was about to suggest, jaw clenched.

“And make sure she can’t tell anyone how to turn a vampire back into a human, un,” Deidara stated firmly. He didn’t have the same guilt about wanting people dead like Itachi did. “I will kill her myself if she doesn’t die by witch hands, un.”

The two witches tensed a little, but after a pause, Chloe nodded. “I understand,” she said, then turned to Mesi. “I think we should go, before anyone notices we’re gone. Mesi and Priscilla are staying in the main house full time now, we were ‘going to get some new clothes Priscilla’.”

“Please be careful you two,” Itachi said earnestly, moving to the door. They continued to talk while Itachi walked them back through the castle towards the front door. Deidara wondered vaguely what they were talking about, hoping that Itachi was being vigilant enough to notice if Mesi put a spell on him for fun. He was relieved that his human didn’t invite the witches into his bedroom, feeling possessive of Itachi’s space now that Sasori was invading it.

He turned to look at his Maker on the bed and walked over to sit on the trunk at its foot, staring at the Cat’s Cradle mask. Was it really that strong? He prodded Sasori’s arm. Nothing. He dug his finger in his side. Nothing. His eyes drifted to the door. Itachi was still a distance away. He looked back at Sasori and took his arm, sinking his fangs into the flesh for a quick second. There was no reaction. He licked his lips, tasting the blood that had once been his link to life. Frowning, he smacked his lips, debating the flavor of the blood. It was what he knew and remembered, and he was surprised by the taste of vampire that came with the blood. Maybe Chloe was right, Sasori’s body only thought that it was human, but it also didn’t taste wholly vampire. Picking up Sasori’s arm again, he bit him again, this time he kept his fangs in to take a gulp of his blood. He was hungry. He hadn’t fed properly in a while and the warm blood that spilled down his throat made him groan slightly until Sasori made a soft noise in his sleep.

He jumped back in alarm, but Sasori slept on. He looked ashamed of himself, wiping his mouth to make sure there was no blood left over and put Sasori’s arm back into its previous position.

“Deidara,” came a chiding voice from the door.

He leapt away from Sasori like he’d been caught stealing candy. Itachi closed the door behind him to give them privacy. “You shouldn’t have bitten him, Deidara,” his human scolded him. “He might be your Maker, but you should still ask.”

“I just wanted to test to see if his blood was human or not, un,” he whined, tugging on his own hair nervously. “I forgot to ask when I killed Markus… It’s important, you know… In case he asks when he wake up…”

“And you’re hungry, because you don’t want to feed on anyone right now,” Itachi said, going to the bed to pick up Sasori and put him in bed properly, pulling the blankets up to his shoulders and sighed heavily. “We can sleep in your room, I suppose,” Itachi suggested, pushing his hair back of his face. 

“Not safe, un.”

“Safe enough,” Itachi told him. He turned and went into his bathroom and Deidara followed after him. “I don’t like how we don’t seem to be in control of anything we do lately,” Itachi said, stepping into the shower.

“Me neither,” Deidara said, stripping his own clothes off and getting under the water with him. “Once we leave, we can do it our way, un.”

“What’s our way?” Itachi asked, scrubbing himself down and looking over at him curiously.

“Winging it, un.”

“That’s your way. What’s our way?” Itachi asked again, though Deidara was delighted to see him smile. Itachi paused, turning to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “What is it?” he asked. “You look happy.”

“I just like when you smile about us, un,” Deidara told him, leaning up against him under the water. Itachi looked a little embarrassed, but kissed him back when he stood on his toes.

“You need to feed,” Itachi murmured around the kiss. “You’ve been biting people without asking.”

“You offering?” he asked with a smirk.

“Yes,” Itachi said, surprising him. “But not in my bathroom and not with Sasori in the room. Don’t laugh,” he added as Deidara started to giggle excitedly. He forced himself to hold it in and showered with him before they dried themselves off and slipped into Itachi’s closet to get pajamas.

Since returning from their escape from the Shadow Hunters, Deidara hadn’t slept in his room. Itachi said he was paranoid, but Deidara didn’t like Itachi sleeping without him, terrified someone was going to try to take him again. He didn’t trust the witch’s magic, but the barrier in the room did offer more protection for his precious human. His secret room wasn’t very secret anymore either, since Itachi had taken the pups and a Shadow Hunter through it to escape the attack last winter. Wrapped up in their bathrobes, Itachi drying his hair, they took the back staircases to the door hidden behind the large painting of Sasori lounging imperiously in a stuffed chair.

Itachi went to the bed and slapped the bed. Dust flew off. His human gave him a look that said he wasn’t impressed by his cleanness and pulled off the old sheets and blankets to replace them with ones he kept in the wardrobe in the corner. “Okay,” Itachi murmured, stripping off his bathrobe and slipping it onto the hangers on the rack in the corner. “Okay…”

Deidara grinned at him and Itachi gave him a nervous look. His human hadn’t yet gotten used to feeding and the fun times that could be had with it. “Okay,” he repeated, pulling off the tshirt of Itachi’s he had pulled on. “Wanna have some fun, or just feed, un?”

Itachi stared at him a moment then gave an apologetic cringe. “Just feeding tonight, I think,” he replied with a burning in his cheeks. “I’m not in the mood tonight… cause of Wes.”

That wiped the grin off his face, but didn’t quiet quell his eagerness as he climbed up on the bed as Itachi sat down and pulled his shirt off. “Ugh,” Itachi groaned softly, looking up at the ceiling. “Why did I shower before this…”

“It doesn’t matter,” he purred, nuzzling his nose into his neck. “There’s some spare clothes in here for emergencies, un. You just have to change, not shower again.”

Itachi’s pulse quickened as he inhaled the delicious scent that seeped from his other half, his heart pushing his blood through his veins. His smell was just so tantalizing, he could lose himself in the scent so easily, but Itachi’s presence in his mind made him pull back, swallowing. He couldn’t do that or he would hurt Itachi and himself. Don’t think about it, just feed, was the thought they both shared, knowing the dangers of giving into hunger.

His fangs sank into Itachi’s neck and a gush of blood poured into his mouth. The thick sweetness of Itachi’s blood better than any other blood he had ever tasted and he felt the part of his soul that was also Itachi reaching for what had once belonged to it and strengthened him more than what normal blood could give him. He removed his fangs quickly – knowing Itachi was embarrassed by what the venom in his fangs did to him, pressing his lips against the wound to drink the remaining bits of blood as the wound closed. There was a strange mixture of reactions in his mind, his pleasure at the taste and Itachi’s physical reaction to the orgasmic venom in his teeth. His attention was pulled away from the taste by Itachi’s moan through clenched teeth and the smell of sex.

“We should invest in medical equipment to take my blood at store it,” Itachi panted softly, face turning red in embarrassment.

“But I like it from the source, un,” he purred, shifting to climb onto his lap, but Itachi stopped him from sitting down, carefully sitting him back on the bed so he could get up and change his pants. Deidara flopped back onto the bed and rocked back and forth on the new sheets. “You taste so good,” he crooned softly. “You make me so much stronger than normal humans, un.”

“I know,” Itachi mumbled, getting into the bed and staring up at the ceiling, still embarrassed by the physical reaction of his bite.

Deidara crawled up under the covers with him and watched his face. “Do you ever want to have sex with a human, un?” he asked after a few moments to take his mind off biting him again.

Itachi gave another embarrassed sputter. “No,” he said, pulling the blanket up to his chin in indignation. “I don’t really care about sex with anyone.”

“Except me, right?” Deidara asked, swinging his feet up under the blanket.

There was a pause. “Sometimes. It… just makes feeding easier sometimes,” he admitted. “It’s embarrassing.”

“But fun, un!” There was a pause and Deidara lift his head up. “Not fun?”

“I don’t know… sometimes, but you spent the whole time giggling, it’s embarrassing,” Itachi stated, still staring resolutely at the ceiling.

“I’m sorry,” he said, holding back another giggle. “I just like how it makes you feel, un. I’ll try not to giggle.”

“I can _feel_ you giggling,” Itachi accused, rolling over to give him his back. “Maybe while we’re gone. I think there will probably be time to relax as well as find the stone… it seems like it will take a while to find it.”

“Vacation~” Deidara crooned excitedly. “Vacation with danger!” The best kind of vacation.

“I hope we can visit more places in addition to Croatia,” Itachi said to the ceiling. “I’m sure there’s a lot of history we can see.”

“Boring…” Deidara grumbled, falling into silence so that Itachi could drift off to sleep. “But we’ll still have fun,” he whispered to Itachi as he snuggled up against his warm body.

Despite Deidara’s excellent in his opinion planning, it was impossible to account for delays or planes leaving early, so the sun was still in the air when they arrived in the Pula airport a week later, though it was nearly finished setting. Usually when they traveled, Itachi spent his time reading while he watched movies, but this time he spent time chatting with Sam about Croatia and trying to pronounce words and phrases they could use since none of them spoke Croatian. The airport in Pula was so small that they disembarked on the taxiways and walk into the airport to go through customs, so Sam gathered their suitcases and Itachi carried Deidara on his back into the building, his hood pulled up over his face. When someone asked, Itachi used his newly learned phrases to apologize that he didn’t speak Croatian, but could speak English or German.

“I was just asking if he’s alright,” the man replied pleasantly in English.

“Oh, sorry,” Itachi responded. “He’s just very tired and I didn’t want to wake him. Here’s his paperwork.” He held Deidara carefully to hand both his and Deidara’s passports to the man as Sam walked up, carefully rolling three large suitcases while carrying hers and Deidara’s carryon.

“Oh, he’s still asleep?” she asked with bright fondness. She smiled at the man and gave a shrug and spoke in English as well, “Sorry, we didn’t want to wake him, is it okay?”

The man smiled at her and handed the passports back to Sam. “Do you need a cart to help you with your luggage, Miss?” he asked, rolling a cart over without waiting for her response and began helping her place the luggage on there. “Did you need to rent a car?”

“I reserved one online,” Sam told him, and he directed them to the area they could pick up the car.

“You’re going to make Sam teach you to drive aren’t you, un,” Deidara grumbled, gripping Itachi’s cardigan as they walked outside to the car.

“Yes,” Itachi said firmly. “I’m not going to rely on people taking care of us forever. And,” he added as Deidara opened his mouth again, “you cannot stop me.”

The blond grumbled as Sam pulled the car up to them and Itachi placed him on the back seat, covering him with his cardigan to protect him from the sun. Sam continued chat with Itachi who Deidara could see was staring out the window at this new place with intense interest. The blond heaved a sigh and glared at the carefully vacuumed floor of the Volkswagen. There wasn’t much they could do while the sun was down – much of the places here didn’t stay up as late as it did in the city – which meant the two of them would be off having fun without him. He grumbled quietly to himself, feeling left out.

 _‘I’m sorry,’_ Itachi murmured in his mind. _‘I’ll try to include you as much as possible.’_

 _‘Shame that witch couldn’t have fixed me before we left, un,’_ Deidara grumbled.

Itachi sighed softly and turned in the seat a little. _‘You would have been in a lot of danger,’_ he reasoned softly. _‘If it’s possible without anyone getting hurt, or Sasori hurting you, we’ll figure it out.’_

Sam gave a soft laugh. “I’m starting to be able to tell when you two are talking to one another,” she told them. “I’m glad,” she added when Itachi started to apologize. “When Dei used to stay with me during the day, I used to feel bad when we talked cause it hurts him to try functioning when the sun’s up. It doesn’t hurt when you talk mind to mind, right?”

“No,” Itachi said for the blond.

“Croatia kinda looks like Tuscany, does it?” Sam said, looking around at the passing fields eagerly.

“I couldn’t comment on that,” Itachi said with a half smile.

“Oh, well, once I went with Deidara to Rome, but I couldn’t go with all those vampires, so instead I spent the time in Tuscany… it kinda looks a bit like this,” Sam explained. “So the hotel I chose is in Opati-ja.”

“I think it’s pronounced Opatija, un,” Deidara said to the floor. “The ‘j’s are pronounced kinda like ‘y’…”

“How do you know that? I thought you didn’t know anything about Croatia,” Sam said with a laugh.

“Hey! I can read a guide book too, un!”

Sam continued to laugh to herself as they slipped onto a wide road with few turnoffs. “I’m kinda hungry,” Sam said, rubbing her chin carefully. “You decide which thing you want to try first?”

“Ćevapi,” Itachi said at once. “With that stuff like cream cheese that the wolves were telling us about. Just hearing them talk about it made me hungry, but we should probably get Deidara into the hotel.”

 _‘The sun will set soon, I can wait, un,’_ Deidara murmured to him.

“No, Deidara,” Itachi said aloud to include Sam. “We’re going to go to the hotel first. We can get something when we arrive.”

They lapsed into silence except for Itachi and Sam making comments about the scenes they passed – the olive trees, the fields, and the homes. Itachi liked how the nature seemed to be growing over the houses, spilling out of windows, growing over the front doors, and in the cracks of the stone. Sam thought the lack of tall trees made the landscape look strange. This was not Deidara’s favorite kind of place. He liked cities with exciting things to do, this seemed like a slower place, much like the island in Greece he took Itachi to the first time. A rest stop before going onto a more exciting place. In front of him, Itachi gave him the briefest back glance that let him know he was annoyed at him for his opinion, but his human didn’t say anything aloud.

He wondered how they were actually going to do this. Traveling with Itachi was a lot of fun, but finding this grimoire in the whole wide world seemed rather daunting though Deidara was never going to back down from a challenge. He went over the things the witches told him, and what they had told Itachi. It sounded more like there was going to be a few places they had to go, not just here. That was too easy. The car went up a hill and the sun shone brightly as it peaked over the horizon and he winced. He needed to feed soon. Down three humans it had been difficult, and now he was down to two. He had been surviving mostly on blood packs at home, but how here he would have to rely on his humans… or hunt. He licked his lips a little. He was hungry again.

“Do you think the wolves will be okay?” Sam asked. “I think Jasper is getting annoyed with us…”

“He’s only trying to protect the wolves,” Itachi said quietly. “We left Belle in charge, but invited all the wolves to stay in the castle where they’re safe. I also gave Jasper expressed permission to allow and deny people through the barrier.”

 _‘That was a bad idea, un,’_ Deidara growled for what he was sure was the hundredth time.

“Deidara didn’t like that idea,” Itachi said aloud. “But I think Jasper will be extremely careful about who can come onto the grounds while we’re gone, and Chloe, Mesi, and Priscilla will have a safe place to go if something goes wrong.”

“True. I’m just worried… Belle won’t do anything to hurt anyone, I just… I’m worried about them all,” Sam said with a sigh. “Deidara how can you stand leaving for long periods of time? Didn’t you worry about us?”

Deidara made a guilty face and didn’t respond. He never thought about his humans before Itachi. He always assumed that his humans would be safe inside the grounds, that none of the vampires would dare attack his humans, and that humans were replaceable. Itachi was not replaceable.

“He did worry,” Itachi spoke up for him. “He just trusted his vampires to keep you safe.”

“And humans are replaceable?” Sam asked, giving Itachi a look. “Don’t worry, I know how vampires think of their humans. Perception is different.”

“He still cares,” Itachi said quietly to her. “He doesn’t want you to die.”

“I know,” she replied. “So what sort of things live here? Do we have to talk to the Master Vampire here?”

“I don’t think there is one,” Itachi said for Deidara. “If there is, we’ll discuss it with them.”

“I have a feeling there won’t be many vampires here,” Sam stated after a few moments of silence in which the sun sank lower and Deidara was able to move a little more. “Vampires like bustling cities – especially port cities, and power. This place seems more like… fae country.”

“I don’t know much about the fae,” Itachi said, glancing back at Deidara as the other sat up a little. “I know there’s some in the city, but they don’t usually bother with us at all.”

“Most Fae prefer nature, so they live in forests,” Deidara explained, carefully rolling his neck to get his muscles used to being able to move again. “Not all of them like being called fae, you know, un… like how some vampires wouldn’t be happy being stuck in the same category as werewolves.”

“It seems like a good country for werewolves,” Itachi commented as they pulled off onto a smaller road, an expanse of water on their right visible during the biggest bends. “Lots of space to run.”

“I think it’s beautiful,” Sam stated, taking her eyes off the road to glance at the water. “Is that a lake?”

Itachi pulled out a map to examine, ignoring Deidara’s amusement that he had bought a paper map when all three of them had smart phones. “No, I think it’s the sea…. The Bay of…Kvarner,” he read uncertainly. “I don’t like languages where there are two consonants together like that… There’s an island in the bay that is just the letters K-R-K.”

Sam didn’t respond because she had begun focusing on the GPS on her phone to get them to the hotel they were staying in. Deidara helped Itachi with the luggage while Sam went inside the building made of a yellowish tan colored stone to check in. Deidara was mortified and slightly furious to discover that Sam had reserved their hotel room for two adults and one child, but didn’t say anything in front of the hotel staff as they made their way through the luxuriously decorated hotel. The moment they had set their bags down, Itachi and Sam – in pure human fashion – crossed the room to the double doors that lead to an outside sitting area and opened them to exclaim the pleasure of the view of the sea the room gave them. So human. Instead of joining them, Deidara examined the bedrooms, wondering which would be best for him to stay in with Itachi. Human travelers loved views and windows so much, it was getting harder and harder to find hotels with dark bedrooms. The slightly smaller bedroom had one less window than the other so he chose that one and busied himself using spare bedclothes to block out the excess sunlight that would pour in when the sun rose again.

He was still hungry.

“Dei, do you want to come with us?” Sam asked, poking her head into the room. “We’re going to explore and try to find something to eat.”

Something to eat.

“Nah,” Deidara replied, grinning at her, though over her shoulder, he saw Itachi giving him a knowing look. “It’ll be too hard to explain why I’m not eating with you, un. You go ahead. I’m going to call someone to see if I need to report to any creature, un.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea,” Sam said, nodding. “Okay, then. Text us if you need anything.”

He looked at Itachi, who looked a little anxious, but didn’t say anything as the two changed from their cozy shoes and hoodies from the airplane into walking shoes and more fashionable jackets. Itachi knew what Deidara was. Knew he had to hunt to feed, but he didn’t like it. He was worried Deidara would hurt someone and enjoy it. How he was expected to enjoy it when he had Itachi’s gentle and peace-loving soul ever present, he didn’t know. Deidara distracted himself from the knowledge that his hunting would make Itachi sad by surveying Itachi as he tied his shoes and grinned. He did have excellent taste in picking out clothes for Itachi. Itachi glanced up at him with a look that told him he knew Deidara was watching him and left with Sam, slipping his wallet, phone and room key into his pocket as he did.

Finally alone, he climbed out onto the balcony and inhaled the scent of the sea, the people, and strange smells of a new place. He would call someone to find out if there was anything to worry about in this place, but for now, he dropped from the balcony and left in the opposite direction of Itachi and Sam and let himself push his concerns for Itachi, for his humans, for Sasori, for the witches, out of his mind and fell into the beastly monster in him to hunt.


	9. The Top of the Mountain

“Wow that ice cream looks good.”

“We should eat real food before we eat ice cream,” Itachi told Sam with a smile as they walked by a small stall. 

“Okay, Dad,” she said with a roll of her eyes, but she was grinning at him.

There was a light breeze coming from where he could hear the water lapping, though he could only see glimpses of it. The night air was pleasant on his face after the artificial air of the planes and the rented car. He liked the stone walkways smoothed by wind, water, and feet, and the way nature was growing all over just like in the houses they had passed. He had barely seen anything so far and he could tell that this was a very peaceful country.

“Oh my god, look!” Sam cried, breaking into his thoughts.

They had just walked off the garden paths towards those that led to the sea they had seen from the car. In front of them was a small pool where a series of boats were secured, bobbing gently in the clear green water. An iron rail separated the pathways from the pool to protect people from falling in and a statue had been erected of a man sitting on a stone bench wearing a friendly smile under his sea cap. One hand rested on his knee, the other held out as if waiting for someone to take his hand. Sam rushed over to him and clasped it, twirling on her toes to face Itachi.

“Take my picture! Take my picture! Is it still light enough?” she asked eagerly.

“I’m not sure,” Itachi answered honestly, but he took out his phone and took a picture for her, then, at her bidding, took another with the flash on. “We can also come back when the sun is up and take another one.”

“Just in case we forget,” she reasoned, coming over to see the picture. “Send it to me later, okay?”

He agreed and they walked on, following the path to the left. Hungry as they were, neither seemed too keen on rushing to find food yet. They came to a corner where they could see past more iron rails into the bay of the sea, the breeze creating small waves that broke gently over the large rocks jutting out from the water. It was difficult to make out without the sun, but Itachi could just see a woman standing on the tallest rock. He was concerned at first, wondering what a person was doing standing on the rocks like that, but, after a long look, he decided it was another statue and made a mental note to come back here during the day to see it, even if they didn’t take another picture with the seaman.

“The downside to traveling with a vampire is never getting to see much during the day,” Sam commented with a slight sigh. “I bet the water looks beautiful.”

“We’ll see it tomorrow,” Itachi assured her again. “Deidara can’t keep us with him all day.”

She gave a slight laugh. “True,” she replied. “Though he’ll probably whine a lot. Ohh! That place looks like a restaurant!”

She pointed inland towards a small building with lights streaming out of its windows, reflecting on the water in an otherworldly kind of way. Itachi took a moment to look at the warped reflection in the evermoving sea, then followed her back the way they came, passing the seaman again – Sam gave the statue’s hand a friendly slap as she passed – and around the docking pool to the restaurant. There was a patio build out over the restaurant with its curtains and screens flown open to allow an outdoor eating experience while shielding the patrons from weather or sun. As they were seated and given a menu, Itachi gave a soft laugh as he looked around at the couples dining together.

“What?”

“It’s very romantic,” Itachi commented.

She grinned and posed. “Should I have worn something nicer for you?” she teased.

Itachi smiled at her and shook her head. “I always think you look nice,” he told her.

“That’s so sweet, Itachi,” she said then looked down at the menu. “Should we just point and grunt or get our phones out to translate?”

They ended up doing neither, as their server spoke English and explained a variety of things on the menu for them. There was no ćevapi, but Itachi was pleased to discover comprised of mainly seafood, something he couldn’t get fresh very often at the castle. They ended up with several plates, prosciutto wrapped asparagus, a dish of scallops cooked on their shells, grilled zucchini and eggplant, bruschetta, and a platter of various grilled and steamed seafood. Sam audibly moaned with longing when the plates were set on the table, an emotion Itachi fully understood as they shared each of the dishes that were delicious and fresh. While they ate, they talked about things they wanted to see that they had found in guidebooks and the internet, and possible places they would have to go to.

Itachi was about to ask what time she wanted to go out when he felt a strong metallic taste of blood in his mouth. His hand flew up, worried he had bit his lip or tongue, but found no blood there. Sam looked at him curiously and Itachi gave a soft sigh. “Sorry, I think Deidara decided to go hunting,” he said quietly. “I thought I had blood in my mouth, but I think it’s Deidara…”

“Oh,” she said, sighing herself. “I’m sure he won’t hurt anyone. Honestly, I never got why vampires didn’t just work at strip clubs and stuff. Like, seriously, right? They’d make bank without having to do anything.”

“Vampires think too highly of themselves,” Itachi suggested, and she laughed openly.

When they finished their meal, Itachi paid for them, though Sam argued to pay for half until Itachi reminded her technically it was Deidara’s money. “That’s true,” she said with a roll of her eyes, pulling her cardigan on again. “Somehow I never mind when it’s Deidara’s money.”

“It makes me feel uncomfortable, but if I spend it, there’s less chance that Deidara will buy me something ridiculous,” Itachi explained. “Like that watch he bought me that was over seven thousand euros because I didn’t want to buy the thirty euro one in the store.”

“Oh, man, I thought you were going to faint dead on the spot when you saw the price tag,” Sam chuckled as they walked out into the night whose air had cooled even more. “I’m so full. Did you want to go to a bar, or go back home?”

He considered this for a moment, then something a short distance down the water caught his attention. There was a man sitting on one of the large stone slabs that functioned as wave breaker, step, and seating area. He appeared to be asleep, but there was something else crouched next to him. It had the appearance of a tiny old man with beard and hair spilling thickly over its shoulders, but when it shifted so that it faced Itachi, he saw in the dim light that it was not an old man, but something in between a man and a cat, nudging and petting the sleeping man gently until it looked up and saw Itachi watching it. He was too far away to hear it, but it seemed to hiss at him and vanish. As soon as it did, a woman in black walked up to the man and sat down next to the sleeping figure.

“Did you see that?” Itachi whispered to Sam.

“See what?” she asked, following his gaze.

“There was some sort of creature next to that sleeping man over there,” he said, nodding with his head because he had learned that many supernatural creatures found pointing very offensive. “It looked like an old man, but it had a face like a cat.”

“Ohh,” Sam said with interested, gazing around intently, but she looked a little disappointed. “No, I didn’t, but I think I know what it was… I’ll tell you when we get back to the hotel. They probably won’t like being talked about in public.”

“Maybe we should just go back now,” Itachi suggested. The woman sitting with the man had turned to look directly at him and gave him a small smile that sent a shiver of ice down his spine despite its friendliness. He didn’t want to scare Sam nor attract Deidara’s attention, so he kept his tone light. “If we sleep now, Deidara won’t be able to stop us from sightseeing in the afternoon at least.”

“That’s true,” she said, grinning and looping her arm around his. “Let’s go before our ‘child’ comes looking for us.”

Deidara was still hunting, Itachi knew, when they returned to the hotel, but he bathed and went to bed without waiting for him. He dreamed about the woman who had sat by the sleeping man, seeing her slip in and out of his memories as if he had seen her at different stages of his life in reverse. She never spoke to him, but she always gave him that smile when he noticed her then turned away. He stood in his father’s office as an adult, his insides frozen at the carnage he knew that surrounded him, but he refused to acknowledge the death at his feet and so, in his dream state, the polished hardwood floor was shrouded in mist. He looked down at himself as a child, crouched in terror under his father’s desk, hiding as his mother instructed after he listened to her die. He was shaking and crying, listening to the exclamations of police officers as they searched his house, mortified by the murder that had plagued the Uchiha household. They had walked by the desk multiple times and had not noticed his adult self or his child one, but then a woman walked inside the study and knelt before him with that smile. _‘It’s okay, little one… the real monster is gone… I am not here for you.’_ And the police suddenly noticed him, rushing over with expressions of concern.

“Itachi.”

He sat up with a gasp, very nearly smacking his head against Deidara’s as he leaned over him, but the vampire moved out of the way just in time. He stared around wildly at the unfamiliar room, but remembered their vacation and hotel and relaxed. “You were having a nightmare, un,” Deidara told him, looking concerned, but poised for movement, his muscles strong and tense. He must have fed well. Itachi could see him in the dark, Deidara’s strengthened state gifting him through their bond.

“Not really a nightmare,” Itachi told him, rubbing his eyes. “I saw something when we were out…”

“What?” Deidara said, crawling onto his lap and rubbing his nose into the curve of his neck, tempting himself to bite him, but knowing he wouldn’t because he was too well fed. Deidara didn’t hunt inside the city when they were at home, so he relied on his humans at home because he was too afraid to leave Itachi at home. He hadn’t been this strong in months. Itachi closed his eyes and hoped he wouldn’t dream about the people he hunted.

“What time is it?”

“Nearly four… what did you see?”

“I saw a man sleeping outside, and there was a creature next to him,” Itachi explained rather than comment on the violence of his vampire. “Sam said it might have been a domovoy, some sort of fire creature that is supposed to protect homes from here to Russia. It left when it saw I noticed it, I wondered if it knew I was a Shadow Hunter—”

“You’re not a Shadow Hunter,” Deidara growled in his ear. “You are my human, un.”

Itachi gave a soft smile and leaned back in bed. Deidara went with him, resting his head on his chest to listen to his heartbeat as he loved to do. “Anyway, it left and then a woman walked up to the man and sat down with him. She smiled at me and… I don’t know why, but… something seemed wrong.”

“A man by the water?” Deidara asked suddenly, shifting so he could swing his legs over their bodies.

“Yes.”

Deidara blinked then laid his head down without commenting. “So she scared you? Want me to go after her?”

“No,” Itachi replied, frowning at the top of his head. “But I dreamed as if I was remembering seeing her before… the last one was after…” he swallowed, the memory causing his chest to tighten and his throat to close up, Deidara lifted his head to look at him, “after my parents died,” he finished, swallowing again to clear his throat. “As if she was there, but I don’t remember her actually being there… but most of that night is a blur… Are domovoy dangerous?”

“I dunno…” Deidara mumbled. “Not usually. They’re usually inside homes, un.”

Deidara rubbed his forehead against Itachi’s chest in a comforting, cat like manner. Through their connection, he felt Deidara’s distress that Itachi had experienced bad things and he couldn’t take it away. He reached down the warm taffy to Deidara and found other things. His vampire had hunted a man and a woman taking a nighttime stroll together. They had been scared, sensing something hunting after them and tried to run, but that had only made Deidara hunt them with more intensity. He had not hurt them, though he wanted to. Fear made their blood far more delicious, but he resisted. Instead he used glamour that never worked on Itachi to calm them down and make them forget him as he fed deeply from one as the other tried to escape, but he caught the woman in the end and fed from her as well. Deidara had tried his best to feed in a way that would not upset Itachi, but he was still hungry and hunted two more people, a teenager taking a shortcut home across a soccer field, a woman sitting outside smoking a secret cigarette. On his way back to the hotel, there was a commotion that caught his attention, but he avoided the police and…

He pulled himself out of their connection and sat up again. “The man was dead?” he demanded, staring at Deidara in horror.

The blond made a noise that was both uncertain and uncomfortable. “Might have been someone else, un,” he mumbled.

Itachi opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but his brain couldn’t think of something and he closed it. “I could have helped him…”

“Uh-uh,” Deidara said, sitting up and shaking his head. “I could smell him. He died from too much alcohol… You couldn’t do anything, un.”

“Still…”

“Itachi,” Deidara groaned, shifting so he was straddling Itachi’s lap. “Stop taking on every problem in the world, un.”

He leaned up to kiss Itachi, who ducked out of the way. He gave the hurt looking boy an apologetic look. “You just fed on a bunch of strangers,” Itachi explained, shifting to drop his head on his pillow and rolled onto his side. “I’m not kissing you until you brush your teeth at least.” He smiled as Deidara scrambled to hurry to the bathroom to obediently brush his teeth.

Sam and Itachi felt slightly guilty when they left Deidara in the hotel room, making sure he had a laptop plugged in and a comic book nearby to entertain himself. He begged them to take him with them, insisting that he could handle the sunlight and could just wait in the car if they got out and walked around, but both of them refused. No matter how strong he was after feeding, the sun would hurt him too much and would leave him starving again. Itachi promised to give him as much insight to his own experiences as possible, and Sam promised to take lots of pictures to match the stories she’d tell him when they returned.

“I feel so guilty,” she sighed fretfully as they drove down the road they had taken from the airport to get to their hotel the day before. “It’s such a shame that this whole… siluetu thing doesn’t let him walk around during the day with you.”

“Yeah,” Itachi said, folding his arms over his chest, taking his eyes off of the passing scenery to look at her. “But I’d rather him be cranky in the dark, than in pain in the sun.”

“Me too,” she whispered. “So,” with an attempt at cheery subject change, “ready to have some delicious pizza?”

“On a cliff?” Itachi replied, smiling at her excited grin. “Yes, I’m looking forward to trying the pizza on a cliff. Also, Sam…since we're alone...”

“Oh god, you’re going to ask me to teach you how to drive, aren’t you?” she asked with comical anxiety. “Deidara told me I’m not allowed.”

“Deidara isn’t here. He can’t stop me from learning, and I’d rather learn from a friend,” Itachi insisted, turning to look out at the strange landscape again. “This place is beautiful…”

“It really is,” she said with a sigh. They listened to music for the forty minute drive along the coast, the windows down and the early summer breeze stirring their hair. Itachi reached out to Deidara to show him the exquisite landscape of hills dipping into the sea, but the blond was still unhappy about being left behind and ignored him. They finally reached a sharp bend in the road as the landscape created a small peninsula where a wide river on one side met the sea on the other. Hotel Flanona was built at the tip of the outlook, a lone landmark jutting out on a clip that gave a spectacular view of the river flowing into the sea. They pulled into the parking lot and got out to look over the river. “Why is the water different colors?” Sam asked, holding out her phone out to take a picture.

“It’s an estuary,” Itachi explained, pointing upstream. “When freshwater flows into the salt water, it turns black like that.”

“I love that you know that,” she commented. “You’re like a walking encyclopedia.”

They took pictures together than walked inside the building. Sam had a halting conversation with many hand gestures to ask if they could sit on the balcony of the restaurant attached to the hotel. Itachi sat down at the table indicated for them and asked for water while he looked over the menu which was not in any language he understood, so he pulled his phone out and used the translation app to look at the menu options while Sam walked the balcony that had a startling drop down into the ground below, taking pictures.

“Donositelj smrti.”

He looked up and started. A creature stood next to the table, the same kind as the one he saw at the waterfront, giving him an aggressive expression in the interesting mixture both human and cat face. “I’m sorry,” he said in his slow, practiced Croatian, “I don’t speak Croatian. I can speak Japanese, German, English, and a little French.”

The creature stared at him angrily, then reached up and drew on the table with his finger. A symbol. One he had seen painted on the door of the strong holds of Shadow Hunters. He swallowed, flipping through his notebook for phrases he had looked up, and held out his phone with the mic on. “Can you say it again?” he asked.

“Donositelj smrti,” it growled.

“Death bringer,” he murmured aloud, reading his screen and understanding washed over him. “No. No – _ne_ ,” he added quickly. “ _Ne_ , I’m not a Shadow Hunter.”

Sam came over, giving the creature a slightly fearful expression and sat down next to Itachi, placing him between herself and the creature, who looked her over, its cat like nose widening as it sniffed her. “Strzyga…vampir,” it whispered, looking from one to the other with more interest. It gestured at Itachi’s phone again and waited for him to have the translation mic on before speaking again.

_‘What is a Death Bringer and a vampir’s human doing here? We have done no wrong.’_

Itachi gave a slight grimace as Sam made a soft noise of understanding and took her own phone out and spoke into it the same time Itachi told his own that he wasn’t a Shadow Hunter. “We are traveling to hike in Učka. We are both vampire’s humans. Our vampire is sleeping in our hotel,” Sam said, then held her phone out for the creature to read, while Itachi held his own out so the creature could also read his statement.

“We just want pizza,” Itachi added into his phone.

“Are you domovoy?” Sam asked curiously.

The creature gave her a long look, but then spoke into her phone for her. “That is not a Croatian word, in stories we are called domestic,” said the translator, but the creature corrected Sam when she read it aloud. “Domaći. Domaći,” it said, patting its chest. It considered them for a moment, then gestured to the phone again. “You did not come to hurt us?” it asked Itachi.

Itachi shook his head fervently and the domaći gave a soft nod before going back inside the building. “Sometimes I miss when nothing could smell what I was,” Itachi murmured softly. “No one could before Deidara and I exchanged souls.”

“Cause of your mom’s spell, right?” Sam asked, looking over the menu he had put down. 

Itachi nodded, looking over at the water. He did not like Shadow Hunters, hating how creatures feared him because of his blood. They had tortured Deidara, taking pleasure in that torture, killed vampires and humans trying to protect their vampires, tried to rip Itachi and Deidara’s souls apart from one another. They were aggressive, racist, and elitist, and Itachi hated being associated with them. His parents had been murdered by one of the three factions of the Shadow Hunter council for trying to create peace between paranormal creatures. He wanted to be Deidara’s human, that was all, not a monster that creatures he was interested in learning about would run and hide from.

A woman walked up to their table and placed cups of coffee down in front of each of them then a plate of cheesy, bubbly thin crust pizza. They looked up at her in surprise and she smiled down at them. “Darko said you like pizza,” she said. “He make for you and said you will like my coffee. Darko always knows.”

“…Who?” Sam asked in confusion, putting her menu down.

“Darko, you speak to him before,” she said, gesturing inside the building at the kitchen. “He never come out of kitchen. You like his pizza. It’s delicious.”

The two of them exchanged looks and tried to peer inside but the glare on the window stopped them from being able to see inside the hotel’s restaurant. “Creepy,” Sam murmured, ducking her head down out of sight from the window. “Thank you,” she said to the waitress who smiled and left them to their food. “Do you think this is safe to eat?”

Itachi stared down at the pizza. “I don’t think the domaći would poison us at its own restaurant,” he said quietly. “If one of us starts to feel bad, we’ll just rush back to Deidara and get a dose of vampire blood.” He took a slice of pizza off the plate and served it to Sam before taking his own.

“Here’s to dangerous food,” Sam said cheerfully and took a big bite of the pizza. “Mmm. If this kills me, I’ll be happy about it,” she stated, throwing her head back in apparent pleasure at the taste of the pizza.

Itachi smiled and took a bite himself. It was very delicious. Smiling a little, he gave Deidara a mental jab to get his attention, then opened their connection as wide as possible to let him feel the taste of the pizza, the breeze off the water, and the warm summer sun. He felt him pull on it with longing that was stronger than his displeasure at being left behind, before remembering that he was mad at them and pulled away again. Itachi rolled his eyes. They spent the remainder of the meal chatting about basics of how to drive, Sam talking casually and Itachi listening intently and asking questions. Afterwards, they paid for their meal and went into the restaurant to personally thank the domaći for the delicious pizza then went to the car, Sam tossing the keys to Itachi and got into the passenger’s seat so she could teach him to drive.

_‘What the hell are you doing, un?!’_

Itachi, who had been growing more confident and at ease the more he pulled out of parking spaces and across the small lot, slammed on the breaks, jerking them to a sudden halt. “Sorry sorry,” he stammered to Sam, who had grabbed onto the panic rail to give some stability to the feeling of sudden, inevitable death. “Deidara.”

 _‘Thanks, I almost crashed,’_ he muttered.

_‘What are you doing driving!?’_

He frowned and closed his eyes at the mounting headache from the pressure the blond was causing. “Deidara if you don’t stop yelling, I’m going shut you out,” he said, both aloud and in his head.

“Oh,” Sam said in understanding. She took out her phone and dialed a number. “Deidara,” she said, putting the phone on speaker. “Itachi needs to learn. You can’t distract him like that.”

“I told you he not learning to drive, un!” came Deidara’s angry voice. “Why are you—”

“I can learn if I want, Deidara,” Itachi interrupted, sighing heavily. “You can’t keep shouting in my head when you’re angry. It distracts me and that’s dangerous.”

“Driving a car is dangerous, un!” Deidara growled at him. “I told you, no!”

“And I told you, you can’t stop me,” Itachi said, growing angry himself.

“Sam! Drive back to the hotel now, un!”

Sam looked at Itachi, her eyes full of anxiety. Itachi took the phone from her. “No,” he said, then hung up and thinned the connection between the two of them as much as he could without slamming the door between them. Sam’s phone rang again immediately. “Don’t answer it,” he stated and put his hands on the wheel of the car to carefully steer it into a parking structure. “He’ll be mad at me, not you,” he assured her in a gentle voice when her eyes widened slightly.

Itachi’s phone rang after Sam’s went quiet, but he silenced it and turned the ringer off. “So,” Sam stammered after doing the same. “Since we have all afternoon and an angry vampire at our hotel, wanna go up the mountain today?”

“Sure…” Itachi murmured, unbuckling his seatbelt. “But you drive… I don’t think I can drive and read maps at the same time.”

“No, no,” she said, patting his arm. “It’s easy because we’re just going to be on a highway of sorts. I looked it up, it’s super easy.”

It was easier to ignore the angry, nagging child vampire in the back of his mind when he was so anxiously gripping the wheel. His was hyper aware of everything as they began to drive north. It helped that the road they were on was only one lane traveling each way and though there was a lot of twists and turns as it clung to the side of the high hills that would eventually grow into the Učka mountain range. Rather than turn on the radio to play music again, Sam asked questions about Itachi’s own research on paranormal creatures for his novel. Itachi flushed and denied that he was writing a book on the paranormal world he was living in now. It wasn’t entirely true, but he wasn’t exactly going to write a book. He just liked being informed and was interested in how normal humans interacted with the paranormal world, how folklore didn’t always match reality. Werewolves didn’t turn into the shaggy monsters with the full moon, and vampires could bathe in garlic and not even get a tingle. The only thing he had found to be true was fae and iron, though he had not met any fae, Deidara had assured him it was true.

He successfully got them to a gas station where Sam filled the tank and also bought them a bunch of bottles of water, then continued the remaining thirty-five minutes. Sam made him pull over on a little parking lot so she could look at a statue build into a sharp curve in the road halfway up the road to the mountain top. The statue seemed built into the side of the mountain, a face carved into the stone with water pouring from its mouth onto the moss covered rocks below in the bowl below. She walked by a few people examining flowers on the side of the road to read the sign that was printed in multiple languages then grinned at Itachi. 

“You can drink the water,” she said, climbing up on the statue immediately.

“Is it safe?” Itachi asked with a frown.

“Yeah,” she grinned. “It’s mountain water, city boy.”

They took a few gulps of the very thin, clean water and Sam took pictures of the statue, Itachi, and the sign then walked back to the car. Itachi asked her to drive again because the twisting roads were starting stressful to drive on and she agreed. As he got into the car, he felt someone’s eyes on him. Looking around, none of the people who were examining the flowers had looked up, but it seemed as though the flowers that spilled all over the side of the road were watching them. Remembering his dream, he shivered and buckled his seatbelt as Sam carefully pulled off onto the road again. They continued up the road until they discovered that they couldn’t drive all the way up to the top of the mountain because of some military restrictions. Sam spent some time on the internet and discovered that they could hike up to the top from a lodge, but couldn’t drive up.

“You could probably manage,” she said, making a little face. “You’re much more in shape than me.”

“You came up to the mountain with… with us earlier this year,” Itachi said, managing to stop himself from saying Wes’s name in time. He saw her jaw clench slightly and felt guilty for bringing it up when they were having a good time together. “We have our water, let’s try it…. And the more exhausted we are from this hike, the less Deidara can harass us for ignoring him.”

Despite Sam’s uncertainty, they managed to park the car at the lodge a little further down a separate path and hiked across the trail through the trees. It was a lot of work, but a very nice walk. Sam told him about how nice it was that there wasn’t any bramble that grew into the path and how common it was where she was from in America. They ran into a few people going back and forth, tourists and others taking advantage of the cool Wednesday weather. It took over an hour, but panting and sweaty they made it to the top where a fenced in building protected whatever military presence prevented people from driving up to the top. They followed the other hikers up the dirt road, a jagged white stone wall on their right as they finished the climb to the observatory. The view when they stood at the top made them both give out a long exhale.

“That is amazing,” Sam stated, turning in a slow circle to see the landscape around them.

“It is,” Itachi agreed, beginning to take a slower circle around the area, walking up the wooden plank to stare down at the sudden drop to the West. _‘Deidara, are you going to yell at me again?’_ he asked quietly, opening the bond a bit more. He was met with a solidly closed door and sighed irritably. He would have to enjoy the scenery on his own then. Sam was taking selfies with the cliff drop off on the West side, then the landscape that dipped into the sea towards Opatija. He knew the direction because of the compass like pull towards Deidara. He sighed again. “What I don’t understand is what are we supposed to be doing here?” he said to Sam. “I mean the view is beautiful, and I enjoyed the hike, but why did Priscilla say we’d be going here?”

“I dunno,” Sam said, throwing her arm around his shoulders to take a selfie with him. “She just said she saw us here, not that it had any relation to The Quest. I think Priscilla is a psychic witch, but it’s not like it is in movies.”

“But then what was the point of coming here?” he asked with a frown. “We came because she saw us there and she saw us there because we’d come here.”

“That’s a time travel paradox,” Sam said, looking at the pictures she had taken. “I should make you watch _Doctor Who_ with me.”

“Deidara has already suggested it,” Itachi said. “I don’t think I would enjoy it. The philosophical theories of time travel would make it frustrating to watch.”

“Why?” she asked, looking up in confusion.

“Because if you go into the past and change something, it either has no affect of your personal future and instead creates a parallel universe – so there is no self-benefit to making the change, or the change was an inevitable loop,” he explained. “You think you’re changing something, but in fact you’re simply creating a self-creating loop. It’s called the Bootstrap Paradox. Like you have a novel you like, but no one knows who wrote it. So you travel back in time to find out, taking the novel with you to be signed. However, no one has heard of this book and you’re disappointed, so you back home, but you leave the novel behind, which someone finds and publishes. There is no distinct beginning and end for that novel, no one creates it, it just keeps being sent back in time.”

Sam stared at him. “Do you know everything?” she asked finally, sounding thoroughly impressed.

Itachi laughed. “Definitely not,” he said.

“He is a Scholar,” came a voice behind them. “It is their enjoyment to know things.”

The two turned on their heels to see an older woman standing behind them wearing thinning denim pants and a light colored blouse. Her straw hat with dried flowers tied to it shielded her eyes from the sun above them though she still squinted at them slightly. She held a basket full of freshly snipped flowers and moss in one hand and her other was planted defiantly on her hip. “I am not a Shadow Hunter,” Itachi said firmly. Her eyebrow went up slightly, lifting the skin around her critical blue eyes. He amended, “my parents were Shadow Hunters. We are the humans of a vampire visiting on vacation.”

“Vacation?” she asked, the eyebrow rising even more. “If you wish to keep your conversations private, you should speak softer when nature is around. What sort of vacation is it that you are sent here by a ‘psychic witch’ and a ‘quest’?”

Sam’s face turned pink. “I didn’t know anyone would understand us,” she admitted.

“Then speak in a less common language than English, dear,” the woman said.

Itachi frowned a little at her, looking passed what his normal eyes took in and what his parents blood allowed him. “You’re a witch… and… you were by the water fountain earlier,” he added. “How did you get up here before us?”

She gave a slight humphing laugh. “My husband has special permission from the government. He is permitted to drive up here. Now,” she added, a stern expression on her face, “you tell me why a Donositelj smrti who is not a Donositelj smrti, and a vampire’s human is traveling up speaking of quests or you will not survive a trip to the mountain’s feet.”

They looked at Itachi, Sam instantly deferred to him and he turned back to the woman. “What does that mean? Donositelj smrti?” he asked softly.

“It is the word we use for your kind. You bring death.”

Itachi’s jaw clenched a little. The term was much more accurate than ‘shadow hunter’, but he really did not want to be associated with them. “We were sent to look for something,” Itachi informed her in a soft voice. “We were given a series of clues by our friend, who is a witch in our city, of places she saw us visiting while looking…”

“Are you part of the local witch coven?” Sam asked quietly.

“No,” the woman said, though it was with a smile. “We don’t have covens here. This is old country, magic seeps out of the ground here. We live in harmony with the other non-humans.” She turned her head to the side and nodded her head to make them turn and look. Itachi wasn’t sure what it was she was nodding at until he noticed what looked like a series of two roses positioned in hourglass form, an open bud on the bottom and a closed one on top. As they looked at them, the pedals ruffled and the flowers drew together nervously.

“Oh my god,” Sam breathed in amazement, crouching lower. “They’re beautiful… what are they?”

“I do not know the English name,” the woman said. “They saw you speaking to Darko at his restaurant and knew I was in the area and warned me. There have been Donositelj smrti have been very violent recently, and we don’t want to become involved in the world’s issues.”

It was his fault. Itachi resisted the urge to bite his lip. He caused the civil war that was going on among the Shadow Hunters because he had refused to let them separate Deidara and his souls and return to them. He had revealed that his parents had been murdered by the Mage Council to stop them from creating a bridging peace between paranormal creatures, including Shadow Hunters. They were all fighting now. “We just want to help our friends,” Sam said in a quiet voice. “We don’t want to disturb anyone.” She reached out and took Itachi’s hand to show that she was on his side. “We are the humans of a vampire who is friends with the local coven and werewolf pack in our city. We don’t want trouble, really.”

“Your vampire is friends with werewolves and witches?” she asked with a slight laugh. She turned to the flowers and spoke to them in Croatian.

“We have werewolf pups living in our house because the grounds have a magical barrier around it to keep Shadow Hunters out,” Sam told her in a tone that didn’t quite hide her fear, though she clutched his hand protectively. “They love Itachi. The Shadow Hunters have been trying to get Itachi to come back to them, but he belongs with us.”

She looked at them for several long breathes then made a soft noise of acceptance. “He could not be separated from you anyway,” she said simply, looking at him. “You are a siluetu.”

They stared at her, then looked at each other. “No one knows that term,” Itachi stammered out, completely floored. “I usually have to correct them.”

She nodded and walked over to a bench so that she could sit down with a soft groan as if her limbs ached with age. “All creatures with souls have the ability to share their souls,” she told them. “It is not a new discovery, just old magic that everyone has the ability to do. You two are not sharing souls… is it your vampire? Is that why you smell so much like a vampire too?”

“Yes,” Itachi replied, completely stunned.

“So,” she said after considering them for a long moment again. “You were told to come here?”

“N-no,” Itachi said still completely floored. “That is the paradox we were talking about. She said this is one of the places she saw us, but didn’t know why, so we came. We don’t know what we’re supposed to do here.”

“The next place is really confusing, we don’t actually know where to go next,” Sam told her. “We couldn’t find anything about flying cats.”

“Flying cats?” the woman asked curiously. The three little creatures made from roses came dancing over to sit in her basket.

“She said she saw us in a place where cats fly and birds walk,” Sam replied, watching the creatures with fascination.

The woman threw her head back and laughed aloud. “Oh, that is easy!” she cried delightedly when her laugh had settled into chuckles. “That is the playful description of Venice of course.”

“Oh!” Sam cried, slapping her hand over her forehead. “The lions!”

“Lions?” Itachi asked in confusion. “There’s lions in Venice?”

“No, not a real lion,” Sam said, turning to face him. “The Venetian lion is a famous statue that’s replicated literally all over Venice. The lions all have wings. This is awesome. I’ve always wanted to go to Venice, but never got the chance.”

“But what are we doing in Venice?” Itachi asked in frustration. Since he had put into words the oddities of this quest of theirs, he found himself getting annoyed with the whole thing. Was there any point to traveling to all these places to find the Grimoire, or were they only going there because Priscilla had seen them there. He wanted to find the stone quickly so they could go home.

Sam gave him an apologetic smile and gave his hand a squeeze before letting it go. “Take a boat ride? Sight see and eat good food?” she suggested. “Listen to Dei complain he can’t come with us?”

“So we just came all the way here to find out something that anyone who has visited Venice could have told us?” Itachi said, forcing his voice to refrain from any tone that might upset Sam. It certainly wasn’t her fault. He turned and walked away to climb up the observatory that was shaped like a castle tower. He stopped with one foot on the stairs, worried about leaving Sam alone with the with strange witch, but other than the threat, he didn’t feel any danger from her. He glanced back and saw Sam kneeling down with her hand outstretched with a delighted expression as she looked at the flower creatures. Satisfied that she would be okay, he continued up the stairs and gazed out at the world below that changed from green to blue as the clouds obstructed the proper colors. His fingers ran along the carvings of the stone railing at the top that seemed to be carved landscape to what’s in front of him.

 _‘Deidara,’_ he called against the door that was closed to him. _‘Deidara, I need you… please.’_ Nothing. He heaved a sigh and rubbed his temples, frustrated with everything. Pulling his phone out, he sent Deidara a text.

‘We ran into another domaći and a witch.’

It only took a little over five seconds for his phone to ring with the ring tone Deidara had selected for himself. The fact that he chose to call him rather than open the door between their minds made him feel even more agitated. He debated ignoring it, but it had been him who had wanted to contact him, so he answered the phone. “Stop acting like a child,” he snapped as soon as he put the phone to his ear.

Deidara made an aggravated noise on the other end. “What happened?” he demanded.

“Nothing,” he said leaning his elbows on the stone railing. “We ate at a restaurant, a domaći was the chef—”

“I thought it was domovoy, un.”

“He corrected us,” Itachi explained taking a deep breath to calm his irritation. “He was worried because he knew I was a Shadow Hunter, but nothing happened. We went up the mountain that had the name that used to mean ‘wolf’, but there’s nothing here, except a witch who only spoke to us because she was also worried about me.”

“Why?” Deidara asked. His voice sounded terrible from the sun time death, which made Itachi even more annoyed he wouldn’t open the connection.

“Because I smell like a Shadow Hunter,” Itachi snapped. “The witch figured out the next place. It’s Venice. We have another place we have to go with no information of what we’re looking for.”

“Why are you so angry?” came Deidara’s indignant voice.

“Because I’m annoyed. I want to go home. You’re acting like a child. You try to make me feel guilty about doing something I want to do. You tried to scare Sam into doing what you wanted,” Itachi stated, turning and walking away from a few people who had come up to look at the view as well. “And you’re blocking me out. Would you like me to go home so you can look for the grimoire alone with Sam? You want me to stay in the library for the rest of eternity, never seeing anything outside the walls?”

“No,” Deidara muttered uncomfortably.

“Then let me live. And apologize to Sam,” he said, hanging up the phone. He tried to unclench his jaw and release the muscles in his neck. This place was beautiful and peaceful, yet he was feeling angry and resentment.

“Itachi?” Sam’s voice said softly behind him. He turned and saw her on the stairs. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he heaved, pushing his hair off his face. “I’m sorry. I’m very annoyed…”

“It’s okay,” she said quietly. “Lucija said she’ll give us a ride back down to her car.”

“Who?”

“Lucija,” she said, jerking her thumb behind her. “The witch. Look,” she added, holding out her other hand. One of the flower creatures was sitting in her palm. The widest open rose that served as its body shifted like a ballroom dress, the little bud that served as its head swiveling to look at the two of them. It bobbed as if bowing, then danced up her arm and settled on her shoulder. “Lucija said that plants communicate differently than humans, like they sent an alert that there was a possible danger like a wave through their roots and also their smells. That’s how they were able to tell her so fast while we were driving here. They’re so adorable, right?” she smiled at the flower creature. “I wish we had these back home.”

He began to follow her down the stairs then stopped suddenly as his orientation shifted as his other half opened the door between them again very slowly. Hesitant and fearful of what would be found on his side. He gripped the rail to keep himself balanced as his body and soul realigned properly again. _‘I’m sorry… I’m sorry…’_ echoed a sad voice in his head. He straightened and finished walking down the stairs without answering but he didn’t shut him out.

“You are under a lot of stress,” the witch said, watching them approach. “I will take you back to your car so that you will not strain yourself more.”

“That is kind of you, but not necessary,” Itachi assured her.

“No, I insist,” she said, rising to her feet and placing the remaining flower creatures down on the ground. Sam did the same with hers and they slipped across the gravel pathway like petals blown in the wind, disappearing into the greenery. They watched them for a moment then began to walk down the gravel path to the small parking lot where a man about the same age as the woman, his beard peppered with grey hairs greeted them. “This is my husband, Ivan. He is also a witch, but speaks no English. And I am Lucija.”

“I am Itachi,” he said, nodding politely to the man. “This is Samantha.”

“Just Sam,” she told them as they got into the backseats of the car. While they drove down the spiraling road they hadn’t been allowed to drive up, Lucija asked them questions about their trip so far, though she was polite about not asking personal questions such as where they were from or what the quest was and neither of them mentioned it again. She told them about how they studied botany, mixing it with old knowledge of their witchcraft to protect the natural world around them, preserving native plants and working with human scientists to stop invasive species. As they neared the turn off where Sam and Itachi realized they couldn’t drive up, Lucija said something to her husband then asked the backseat if they wanted to see something nice.

The little car was parked on the empty dirt area next to the road and the two witches led them up a dirt road and out of the trees onto a plateau that hugged the side of the mountain with a beautiful meadow. The grass’s green hue was broken up by patches of purple flowers and here and there a winking yellow one. The clean mountain air filled his lungs as he stared around at the beautiful nature around him, the mountains looming on one side and the lower hills shaded blue from the clouds below. He felt Deidara’s presence feeling the air and the sun through him, though their connection wasn’t opened enough for him to do more then feel the memory of it.

“The hills are alive,” Itachi repeated Deidara’s thoughts in a murmur.

“Oh, my god,” Sam exclaimed, staring at him. “Did you just make a movie reference?”

“It was Deidara,” he admitted. “I don’t understand it.”

She gave a long suffering sigh, but it was with a smile. “It a musical. Very appropriate for the view.”

They were shown different flowers, wild roses, orchids, peonies, sage, and lavender. Sam told them about their own much smaller mountain at home and the flowers that grew there. Lucija translated for them and Itachi wandered down to stare down at the little villages and cities below. He felt Deidara’s urges and stepped into the mind space he had made to look like the vast library at home and walked to the door that was cracked open and opened it wider. He couldn’t see Deidara, and he didn’t have enough confidence to allow Deidara to step fully into his own mind as he could Deidara’s, but he could sense the blond there and slid his hand through the barrier and felt Deidara clutching his hand.

“Are you mad at me, un?” came the blond’s miserable voice.

“Not at you, no,” he assured the blond. “Well… I’m annoyed at you, but not mad.”

“I’m sorry,” the blond said again, sounding distressed. “I don’t want you to be hurt and I can’t protect you, un.”

“You can’t protect me forever,” Itachi told him. “I have to be able to live my life as well.”

There was silence on the other end. He knew Deidara was as terrified of Itachi leaving him as he was that someone was going to take him away. His vampire’s desperate cravings for his blood notwithstanding, he was the offspring of a Maker who kept Deidara captive for fear of being unable to feed from his blood, and then kept as a toy. Child Vampires were not very good at handling their emotions. It wasn’t Deidara’s fault. He knew this, but he also insisted on the blond learning to adapt with this as well as he adapted to new games. Smiling at the feeling of Deidara across from him, he opened the mental door wider and let him feel the warm sun, the breeze that ruffled the leaves and flowers.

“Sam took lots of pictures,” he told Deidara. “We’ll tell you about it when we come back.”

“Soon?”

“We’re making our way back, but we’ll need to get food first.”

“Okay…”

He stepped out of his mindspace and looked around at Sam who was crouching next to their new friend talking about flowers and magic. He thought about Chloe with her shop full of drying flowers, and her office in her home that looked more like an apothecary than an office. Jars lining the walls with whole plants, ground up, shaved down, all waiting to be used in her spells. Though Chloe held a softness about her that made her seem weaker than she really was, there was something about her that would not allow anyone to take advantage of her or her family. Mesi’s magic was aggressive and flashy. Priscilla’s was unnerving and otherworldly. These people were witches too, but different kinds. He doubted they could use spells like the Engels did. He watched Lucija taking small cuts of flowers and leaves from different plants and tie them together with twine that shimmered like a heat haze between her fingers. It was much closer to the earth than the Engel magic, or even the Shadow Hunter’s Mage magic. He wondered if there were books available for him to read about different types of magics.

“Itachi look,” Sam said, holding out the bundle of flowers and leaves. “It’s like a smudge stick, only we don’t burn it, right?” she asked to clarify and Lucija smiled and nodded.

“It clears your mind when it’s cluttered,” she said, giving his arm a gentle pat. “I can see that you are under a lot of stress.”

“Thank you,” he said, giving her a nod. “Our vampire has asked us to return. He gets anxious if we’re out too long.”

She made a small noise of understanding. “Your next stop is Venice, right?” she asked, then continued without waiting. “If you don’t want to deal with transporting all your items there, you can take a ferry from Pula or Rovinj to Venice… It may be nicer than driving.”

“That’s a good idea,” Itachi replied, pulling his phone out to make a note of it. “I appreciate your friendliness.”

She smiled widely at him, the wrinkles around her eyes crinkling happily. He wondered how old she was. The witches in Germany lived so long without much signs of age, but she had the appearance of a woman in her late fifties. He wondered if it was the same for witches everywhere. Everywhere… his thoughts wandered back to Japan, wondering what sort of witches lived there and what they were like. Maybe he should make separate files for different types of creatures per country instead of per creature.

“Are there werewolves and vampires here in Croatia?” he asked as he took his own flower bundle and Sam made the three of them pose with her for a selfie, Ivan politely declined his photo being taken. They all smiled for her as she held out her phone to get them and the scenery below, then walked together back to the car. He noticed that Ivan also had a camera in his hand and was looking through photos of blossoming plants as they walked, showing them to Lucija as they walked. He wondered how they worked with humans to preserve the nature around them, but, he glanced back at the meadow tucked on the side of the mountain, he understood wanting to keep this beautiful space safe.

“Oh, yes,” Lucija said as they approached the car. “There aren’t too many in Istria, but the werewolves are mostly clustered around Motovun and closer to the border of Slovenia. The vampires mostly live in the bigger cities or near ports.”

“Should we have asked the vampire’s permission before coming in?” he asked as they got back into the car.

“Permission? No,” she said with a wave of her hand. “There isn’t a Master or anything like that. The werewolves might get more nervous than us about strangers, but we keep to ourselves and self-policing when someone loses control.”

Sam spent the trip back up the road to where their car was parked asking questions about places they might want to visit before they left the country for the next stop on their list, and places they should go to get some food. Itachi reminded her that they hadn’t yet had ćevapi, and Lucija turned in her seat to tell them places she liked. She also gave Sam her phone number and email in case they wanted to contact her.

“That’s really cool,” Sam said as they drove down the mountain in their own car. Once they reached the highway again, she switched seats with Itachi to have him drive the rest of the way down, giving him instructions on looking for things like speed limits and checking mirrors. “Witches working with humans, you know?”

“Yes,” he agreed, keeping both of his hands on the wheel even though Sam always drove with one hand. “I thought that was interesting, too. The people we’ve seen here so far, they seem… closer to the earth than the humans at home. Like there’s less of a divide between different species.”

“Yeah!” she said, gesturing excitedly. “Like the humans have their own magic. I like that they work together. It’s like they don’t really have to hide what they are from the humans. I always thought the humans in our city sort of… suspects… that some of us aren’t normal, but they don’t care enough to notice. I don’t think that waitress would be surprised to know that her chef was supernatural.”

“No, I don’t think so either,” he agreed. “If human movies wouldn’t portray witches and werewolves as monstrous as they do, I don’t think the humans would really mind sharing the world with them.”

“Not vampires…”

“No,” he murmured softly. “Not vampires… not many fae either. I never understood why Shadow Hunters went after werewolves so much. I know they can be very dangerous, but that’s what the Alpha is for.”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure self-policing works for everyone,” Sam argued reasonably. “Power is dangerous for anyone, human, werewolf, vampire, or whatever.”

“That’s true,” he agreed. “Depends on the person, I guess.” Deidara certainly wouldn’t be a self-policing type. Sasori was, but it wasn’t policing to any rules that anyone else agreed to. Despite his refusal to adhere to the Vampire Council that oversaw the world’s vampires, Sasori didn’t do anything that would seriously jeopardize the secrecy of vampires. It was too dangerous. Humans outnumbered them. Itachi had a feeling that Sasori would enjoy fighting them all, even when they overwhelmed him. He highly doubted that any human would be interested in living with something as monstrous as vampires who hunted humans for fun and for food and felt bad for his vampire who was so playful on good days, but monstrous on bad ones. Deidara liked his monstrous self. Or he did before he shared his soul with Itachi. Perhaps that was why Sasori was so annoyed with the two of them so often. 

He mused to himself as they turned onto the highway again, heading back to their hotel for dinner, ice cream, and hopefully a less angry vampire.


	10. The Lions of St Mark

Itachi wanted to go straight to Venice following their meeting with the witch couple, but both Sam and Deidara voted him down. Deidara wanted to meet the witches to make sure their intention hadn’t been harmful, and Sam wanted to explore the country more than the two days they had so far. He was surprised Deidara hadn’t ground into them when they got to the hotel, but he had just followed Sam into her room and quietly looked at all the pictures she’d taken and listened to her talk about their day before she finally fell asleep. There really wasn’t much for Deidara to do in the evening when the sun went down, but he did his best to be included during the day, sometimes spending his sun time death under a blanket in the car to hide from the rays, but it wasn’t a good solution and he had to slip away at night to feed more than usual. Still, Itachi enjoyed spending time with Lucija and her husband, and also her daughter Minka when she was free. They saw lots of little villages built on hills or tucked into valleys, they ate many dishes from the desired ćevapi – which was just as delicious as Itachi had been told – to wild game stew over gnocchi to pizza with cured meats. They even took them to Pazin where Jules Verne drew inspiration for his novels, though they only looked down into the pit that led to the caves instead of exploring them. Deidara had joked it was a job for a vampire – exploring caves that were not completely examined by humans like this one and the witches agreed with a laugh.

Deidara looked like a miserable goth child on the boat ride to Venice, even though the sun hadn’t yet risen when they arrived at the dock with their luggage, but it was creeping over the horizon by the time they were moving. He had argued for a window seat as usual, but quickly shifted seats with Itachi to be away from the unrelenting sun. Sam was curled up in her seat with a hoodie draped over her while she dozed and Itachi was reading a webpage about Venice and landmarks that were recommended to visit. He didn’t really like doing things for tourists, but it was still nice to see landmarks and history. He had also spent the last night reading about the Lion of Saint Mark and wondering about the other thing Priscilla had said.

_“The flying cats will bring you joy.”_

What did that mean? Saint Mark’s lion was just a symbol of Venice, though apparently the lion was everywhere in Venice itself. How would the lion bring him joy? It didn’t make sense.

His musings were pulled away by a nudge from the blond and smiled a little, placing his phone back into his pocket and slid his mind into that calm and peaceful place where his and Deidara’s souls met. When he opened his eyes, Deidara was lying slumped against his shoulder as he was in reality, but he was looking up at him now.

“I apologized to Sam, un,” he told him quietly.

“I know,” Itachi said, closing his eyes again as his brain seemed to heave a sigh as the worry and anxiety that had been wearing on him for weeks pulled away. This was a place he and Deidara shared. If Deidara didn’t have those same worries, it wouldn’t come here. It was such a relief. Here, they could feel one another’s moods and thoughts so much better than they could when separate. They were the same person in here. Two consciousnesses sharing the same space.

Deidara was still full of anxiety and he made himself smile. “I’m not mad at you,” he assured the blond and he felt his relief as well. “But I mean what I said.”

The blond made an unhappy noise and curled up against him. “I know, but… but I just want you safe,” he told him again. “You’re my most important…”

Itachi knew this. He knew he was Deidara’s favorite, partially because of his blood which he craved like an addict no matter how full he was, partially because he kept his soul so safe. He had been so independent before he had met Deidara it was very hard to allow himself to be taken care of or worried over. He thought of Tal and Kali, the only other Silluetu pair he had ever met. Their relationship was a partnership, two friends who loved one another dearly, but Kali and Tal were not always together. Of course, they couldn’t help the separation when he had first met them, for Kali had separated herself from Tal because she had been poisoned by a Shadow Hunter to lose control of her hunger and wanted to protect him. After giving Kali the poison and helping to bring her back home, she and Tal had spent a lot of time together, but then Kali began working for the Vampire Council again and Tal stayed in Rome while she traveled. They were content with their souls connection where they could always reach each other like this. 

Deidara was very different.

“You’re not as safe as Tal,” Deidara countered, hearing his thoughts as if they were his own. He got up and paced around their space, but soon came back and sat down at Itachi’s side again, rubbing his forehead against his shoulder like a cat. “What if they try to take you away again, un…”

“I won’t let that happen,” Itachi assured him, stretching to lean back against a comfortable cushion. Its presence surprised him. Since the first time they had come to this space, it had been simply a peaceful void, almost as if they had sunk to the bottom of the deepest part of a swimming pool. The outside another whole space that existed separately from them. Tal had told him that his mind space with Kali was a garden similar to the one that they had first met in many years ago in India, and that shared mind spaces evolved with the people that shared it. Perhaps theirs was beginning to involve for them. 

“You’re frustrated, un,” Deidara stated, moving to sit in front of him. “Don’t you like traveling?”

“I’m worried about Chloe,” Itachi admitted. “I’m worried what the state of the city will be in when we return. I want to help them, but I feel like we’re just sightseeing. What was the point of coming all the way to Croatia, if the only point was to be told where the second place to visit was?”

“I didn’t like Croatia either.”

“No, I did like Croatia,” he corrected him, wishing he could have shared more than a superficial enjoyment of their sightseeing, the delicious food, and the sense that time had slowed down for those living in the countryside, away from the noisy cities. Deidara did not like those kinds of places, it was one of the things they couldn’t agree on, though Itachi did like the anonymity of cities, he had grown to appreciate the greenness. “I think it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. I am just frustrated that we have so little to go on.”

Deidara began to say something, but both became aware of something outside of their space getting their attention and all too soon they were two people again and Itachi blinked in the light of the sun that had risen much higher than it had been when they had boarded. Sam was nudging both of them and nodded her head to one of the crew of the ferry continued their speech about the history of Venice and its famous canals. Itachi was still thinking about how they had no idea what they were supposed to do in Venice to help the Engels and only heard a few phrases of the man’s speech.

“Venice is the city where the birds walk and the cats fly.” A pause for laughter. “If you don’t understand, just look at all the pigeons. They are so lazy, they don’t need to fly.”

It was aggravating that they could have skipped a stop in their trip if they had met anyone who had actually been on a Venice tour before. Itachi felt Deidara shifting restlessly, sensing Itachi’s irritating and not knowing how to ease it.

“When you come back to us for your return journey, please do not complain about the number of tourists that are there. Every year, Venice receives around twenty million tourists. We know… that there are a lot of tourists. You don’t have to tell us.”

People around them laughed again, including Sam. Itachi wondered if that’s all they were going to do in Venice, be tourists.

“If you do get tired of the tourists – stopping to take pictures, wondering where to eat, talking too loud, and not paying attention to others…. All you need to do is follow this one advice: look up,” the man gestured to an unseen vision before his eyes, “and you will forget all of them. Venice is the most beautiful place on Earth.”

He supposed being a tourist wasn’t a bad thing, walking around the city in the sun with Samantha and perhaps Deidara at night. The blond had already demanded that they not take a gondola ride without him, even though the cost went up at night. After Venice, where were they to go? He thought of the next thing Priscilla had told him, that she had dreamed he spoke to Death, but didn’t say where or how it was possible to speak to Death. Death wasn’t a person, it was just the ending of a life. Perhaps it wasn’t actual death, but a person named Death. Who would name their child ‘Death’, he wondered to himself as both Sam and Deidara suddenly leaned over him to look at the land that had finally come into view after nearly six hours of seemingly endless water.

The buildings that slowly came into view were squared and tall, built so that their feet disappeared right into the blue-green water, their windows were neatly rowed and nearly at the same level as their neighbors so that, if the bricks hadn’t been painted different colors, it would have given the illusion of one long building. Over the terracotta roofs he could see the bell towers of a few churches rising grandly to look down on the world below. As the ferry moved further down the river, grander buildings came into view, the windows no longer uniformed but artfully decorated, pillars supported roofs with elaborate marble carvings, and statues stood sentient as they gazed proudly out towards the boats and ships that passed by. Deidara’s castle back home had many decorative stones, and wrought iron designs on the walls, windows and gates, but it was nothing in comparison to the artful chaos of his first look at the waterfront buildings of Venice.

“Fancy,” Deidara stated, leaning back as he pulled his hood back over his face and rest his head against Itachi’s shoulder.

“It’s beautiful,” Sam breathed. “I can’t wait to see the cathedral.”

They had to get Deidara through customs first. It was difficult for him with the morning sun blazing through the large glass windows, but Itachi couldn’t support him until they had given their IDs individually to the agent and he rushed over to him. Once again, he pulled the blond onto his back, making sure his hoodie was covering his face before following Sam, who was rolling Deidara’s bag as well as her own, out into Venice. They walked as quickly as they could to the hotel, checking in and hurrying up the stairs to their hotel room to put Deidara into bed in the darkest room. Sam hurried to stuff up the windows while Itachi pulled the blankets up over Deidara.

“You should have stayed in the hotel in Croatia,” Itachi said miserably, shifting as Deidara’s discomfort transferred over to himself.

“No way,” Deidara growled, though it was no louder than a breath.

“You should feed,” Sam said, looking nervous, but came over to the bed anyway.

“I’m fine,” he murmured, but Itachi received a lot more information that he didn’t want to share with Sam. She had always been the one he fed from least after the trauma she had experienced under other vampires.

“It’ll be better for me to feed him,” Itachi told her, before she could call out Deidara on the lie. “It will work faster.”

“I can do it,” she said, her voice firm though it was quiet.

“We know,” Itachi told her gently, “but it’s true.”

“Do you want me to,” she began awkwardly, “um, how about I go get breakfast, and come back later and Itachi and I can go explore?” She didn’t wait for an answer, sliding her purse from her travel bag and slung it over her shoulder. “Uh, text me when you’re ready.”

Itachi felt his face beginning to heat up, glancing down at Deidara who had his eyes closed. He could feel the pain he was in from the Suntime death. Deidara was usually good at keeping it from him, but they had been traveling during the day a lot more than the blond usually did. He sat down on the bed next to Deidara and reached for his pocket knife, knowing that Deidara was too weak to bite with enough force that it wouldn’t hurt too badly. They curled up on the bed together, Deidara suckling from the shallow cuts Itachi made in his arm, reopening them when they closed, until the pain began to fade between them. The short bursts of pain from the knife seemed like nothing anymore, the wounds closing as if they had never existed from the magic that was in vampire saliva.

“You taste like sunshine.”

“Hm?” Itachi asked, lifting his head up to free his other ear. He knew Deidara was being careful about how much he was taking, but the hunger the sun had caused, the pain of the daylight made him need it more. He could feel how hard it was not to use his fangs and was grateful that he hadn’t given in. Sam’s awkward understanding made it even more embarrassing.

“You taste like sunshine, un,” Deidara repeated. He couldn’t move his decayed muscles, but Itachi shifted over him so that the blond could look at him. The only thing that never died with him, Deidara had told him. Itachi wondered why that was. Everything was grey and lifeless, except himself. The blond had asked his Maker if it had been the same for him, but Sasori had never answered. Itachi wondered if that was part of what made Deidara special to Sasori. When you saw the world so vibrantly, seeing it grey and dead sounded miserable.

“What does sunshine taste like?” Itachi asked, smiling a little.

“I don’t remember,” came the tired reply. Itachi found himself reaching out to brush the long strands off Deidara’s face and felt the vampire relax a little at the touch. “I hate this…”

“I know,” he said soothingly, sighing softly as he pressed his forehead lightly against his vampire’s. “Maybe you should stay here tonight and recover more before we go exploring. Sam and I can stay here with you…”

There was silence from Deidara’s end for a few minutes and he wondered if speaking had robbed him of the remainder of his energy, but they could always speak mind to mind instead. “You want to explore, un,” Deidara finally mumbled in a discouraged sort of way.

“We can wait,” Itachi assured him.

The blond made a small noise, then opened his eyes to look at him again. “It’s not fair,” he finally said.

“I know—”

“I mean for you and Sam,” Deidara told him grumpily. “But I want to go on the gondolas with you, un.”

“I promise we will wait for you to ride the gondolas together,” Itachi informed him with a smile, shifting to press his cheek against Deidara’s before adjusting the blankets around him and placing his laptop and phone on the bed where he could easily reach it before leaving to find Sam.

When they found each other, they spent the day walking slowly through the stone streets, pointing out the small details on all the buildings, the water and the boats. Sam was as impressed as he was that Deidara had let them go without much of a fight. He hated being left out of things, even if it was impossible for him to have come with them with the sun bearing down on them so strongly, but he hadn’t thrown a tantrum like either of them expected. They found a small shop that sold slushed ice and shared sips of each of their flavors. Itachi was excited to discover a yuzu option among the flavors and Sam chose a refreshing melon syrup on hers. There weren’t as many tourists as the tour guide had warned but at first they tried keeping to what seemed to be a residential area, though each house was as detailed as the elegant buildings on the water. The waterlogged city had a sense of ancient, decaying riches – fine carvings and wrought iron designs against crumbling bricks and blackened algae that illustrated the water levels at high tide.

“This would be a good place for vampires,” Sam commented, pausing in a small square to spin around in a slow circle. “I’d bet another slushie there’s lots of vampires here.”

“You don’t have to bet,” Itachi commented. “I’m quite certain there are vampires. They seem to like grand, old things. This place is beautiful.”

“We haven’t even gotten to the main square yet!” Sam grinned at him. “Look at these peasant homes. So uncouth.”

“Are you being sarcastic?”

“Yes,” she assured him with a laugh.

He gave her a slight smile, not always understanding her humor, but followed her as they crossed stone bridges and began picking their way together through the growing crowds of people. Since learning what he was, Itachi had been getting better at recognizing paranormal creatures who explored the world just like they were. He saw werewolves chatting together at a table outside of a restaurant, creatures he didn’t know but assumed were fae taking pictures just like Sam was. He guessed fae by the heat haze that seemed to shimmer over their faces to make them look human. Glamour. He wondered what they were, what they were called, and where they were from. Was there anything who called Venice home who hadn’t been visitors first?

He looked up at the first statues of the winged lions looking down on the city like guardians. Itachi was still annoyed that they had to come a roundabout way to this place without even knowing if they would find what they sought here. But there was that other thing… The cats would bring him joy. How would they? They were just statues. Maybe it was like seeing them on the mountain, just something superficial that didn’t mean anything. He did want to find something happy. There was a dull ache of sadness that had been festering in him since Kit’s betrayal, only to be worsened by Deidara’s losses of his humans and his own loss of his friends. He and Deidara had talked about the other’s loss – Sam’s loss – after Kit and then after Wes, but they hadn’t spoken about their own losses. He had sat with Deidara mourning, Sasori had even comforted Deidara after Wes had left them. What of himself? He felt like an outsider in the house again, intruding on the family grief, not allowed to grieve himself.

He tried to stay in the present to be cheerful for Sam, who needed distractions from her pain. It was a beautiful city, even crowded with tourist crawling over the stones, adding their weight to continue the smoothing as generations had before them. Sam took what he was sure was a million pictures of Saint Mark’s Basilica, which he felt was so unnecessarily extravagant – chaotic in the arches with murals of saints painted in the domes; above those arches, the pinnacles were capped in gold towered over bronze colored horses, golden winged angels, and the lion with its spread wings high above the ornate portal. It was too much, too ostentatious to focus on anything except the grandeur of it.

“It’s almost… tacky, isn’t it,” Sam said, tilting her head from one side to the other as if observing a painting. “All the money that goes into churches and people starve around the world.” She gave a soft sigh and let her arms flap heavily down at her sides. “My momma used to be real religious,” she began and Itachi turned to look at her. Whenever she spoke of her human family, her English became accented. It wasn’t like Grey’s or Deidara’s English, which sounded European. He wondered if it was just an American English accent, it was slower and with a lot of higher and wider sounding tones. “Real religious. I never really felt comfortable with what some of them things they’d preach and it use to piss me off when they’d talk about taking care of poor folk while looking down on them, you know… what?”

Itachi hesitated, knowing he’d had an interested look on his face that he hadn’t been able to stop as her voice became more accented the longer she spoke. He didn’t want to make her self-conscious. “Your accent changes when you talk about your mother,” he told her finally with an apologetic smile.

“Oh, god, does it really?” she asked, looking slightly mortified. She paused, then gave him a little grin. “I got that southern Georgia drawl?” she said, emphasizing the accent dramatically.

“Is that what it is?” he asked with interest. “I thought it was just an American accent.”

“Oh, no, there’s a lot of American accents,” she told him with a grin. “Hundreds, maybe thousands?”

“I like it,” he said, smiling at her.

Her grin widened and stuck her hand out to him. “Let’s go look for some more flying cats.”

They spent the remainder of the day walking the streets of Venice, taking pictures with one another and eating in small restaurants that held its doors wide open to allow the breeze to waft comfortably through the tables. When the sun finally set, Deidara found them and they continued exploring until Sam announced she was too tired to do much more and they returned to their hotel.

“What is wrong?”

Itachi looked over at Deidara as they leaned against each other hours later in their shared space. They looked at each other a while, each seeing the emotions that they couldn’t hide from each other here. Deidara was hiding his hunger and his frustration at his lack of control over his life in the last few months. Itachi, his grief he didn’t feel he was allowed. The blond’s expression turned sad and he scrunched his shoulders up to his ears.

“You can be sad,” he mumbled. “But I don’t want you to be sad, un.”

“I’m sorry you’re so hungry and I can’t help you…”

“It’s just cause of the sun,” he said, stretching a little. “I feel better since we found that paranormal bar that had blood… I wonder if we can sleep together here, un…” he mused, gazing around the space thoughtfully. His eyes returned to Itachi rather quickly.

“I don’t know… I wish I could take you into my mind while I sleep to let you rest,” Itachi told him, reaching out to slip his fingers in his hair. It didn’t feel like it normally did here, but softer, like smoke become solid. “But Tal said it was dangerous if I’m not focusing.”

Deidara gave a soft sigh, though he never needed to breathe. The vampire had only been able to enter Itachi’s mind twice since he had created his own mind space. Itachi had difficulty holding two minds in his own head without a headache growing too painful to manage and he had to push Deidara out before he lost his connection to his mind space. He hoped it would become easier as they shared the world together. Deidara’s mind was chaos, but Itachi’s was not as cluttered and he knew it was a relief to step out of that chaos entirely. Even here, in their shared space, the half of them that was Deidara came with them, but in Itachi’s mind Deidara would be free. Itachi wanted to give him peace.

He fell asleep after a longer period of silent relaxing, letting Deidara control their train of thought in their mind space until it became the stuff of dreams. They shifted from thoughts of their quest – the steps they had already taken and what was to come, to home and the wolves. He dreamed of meeting the little pup who was so scared, listening to her talk on her computer to her schoolmates she couldn’t see anymore and her brave face as she protected Sasori from the vampires who attacked him when he was helpless. He dreamed of Wes and his gentle fatherliness towards him as he taught him the names of all the flowers and happily grew all the seeds he was gifted from travels over the world. Who would take care of them now? He dreamed of other humans that had come before them, living, playing, and leaving, or dying and it became hard to understand the passing of time and treasuring the beautiful art that was the short span of a human’s life.

“I know it’s bad, but I really wish I could feed the fish.”

Itachi pulled his thoughts out of his dreams the night before to looked over at Sam, dangling her feet over the side of the canal where they stopped to try the snacks and candy they had purchased at a grocery store. Though her legs were long, her toes were still several inches above the green water. It was their second day in Venice. He wondered if there hadn’t been a lot of rain so far this year.

“When I was little,” she continued, the heels of her sandals bumping gently against the wall she sat on, “my momma used to take me to feed the ducks at this little pond by a farm. I used to save all my crusts from my sandwiches so I could feed them. When I was in fifth grade, I discovered that bread is actually really bad for ducks and I was worried I made ducks sick from giving them bread.” She paused, as though looking at something in the water he couldn’t see. “I miss going to that pond…”

He watched her silently, wondering at her. It wasn’t often that Sam talked so much about her past in America. When he had first moved into the castle, she had only told him briefly about herself, but since coming on this trip he had discovered much more about her. He wondered if she was trusting him more, or if they never had opportunities to be so open to one another before. The castle was a safe haven for both of them, but at the same time the presence of others made personal secrets seem necessary. It was a relief to let secrets come out and be vulnerable, he supposed.

“Maybe we can convince Deidara to take us to Atlanta and you can show it to me,” he suggested.

“It doesn’t exist anymore,” she told him with a sigh. “About when I started middle school, the farmer sold his land and there’s a car dealership there now.”

“Oh,” he murmured, unsure of what to say as he felt himself growing sad over the loss of a pond he had never seen before.

She heaved a sigh and brought her gaze out of the water as if it took effort. “I wonder how vampires can stand it, you know?” she said, looking over at him. “You live for so long, but you’re kinda stuck, right? Then humans move on and get rid of things you never knew were important until they’re gone.”

“I think everyone feels like that,” Itachi reasoned, carefully placing his trash into his bag. He wondered if Sam had some of Deidara’s blood before they went out and that was why her thoughts were wandering so similarly to his dreams of Deidara’s memories. “There’s things that last for long periods of time, but others that last only a moment. That’s why Japanese love cherry blossoms so much,” he gave her a small rueful smile and she grinned back. “Cherishing life because it’s fragile and beautiful.”

“That is one of the most Japanese things I’ve ever heard you say,” she said, throwing her head back to laugh good naturedly. “But it’s true too, I guess.”

“Sam,” he said quietly after a few minutes of silence. “Deidara is worried about you.”

Her smile faded a little. “Is he?”

“Yeah,” he admitted.

“Cause he thinks he needs to find me a new friend to replace Kit and make things better?” she asked.

Her question startled him out of his awkward feelings and gave a soft laugh. “How did you know?”

“Cause that’s what he did when he brought Jack,” she told him, shaking her head. “There had been another human living there with us for a short period of time - Willie. He and Kit were really good friends, but Sasori killed Willie and Kit was really upset for a while. Deidara was too – they almost broke the castle fighting and fighting, but Deidara can’t bring himself to really kill Sasori. So Deidara went off on one of his trips and came back a month later with Jack.” She laughed again and gestured as if presenting something invisible to Itachi. “This is how he introduced him, ready? ‘I found you a new friend so everything’s fixed and you won’t be sad. This is Jack.’” She chuckled again. “He’s so dense sometimes right? Turned out that Jack and I had much more in common than he and Kit, but still.”

“He tries,” Itachi offered, smiling as well as he thought of his vampire back in their hotel room, hiding from the sun.

“I figured he was going to try to come up with something to ‘fix’ things at home,” she said, leaning back against a stone post used to tie up boats. “I’m not even sure I want a new frie--oh my god!”

She started so suddenly that she nearly lost her balance, but Itachi grabbed her arm and pulled her back to keep her from falling into the water, spinning around himself to see what she was looking at. Perched on one of the bridges that spanned from a house’s front door to the walk way were a few bronze lions with wings folded back across their backs. He didn’t remember seeing them there before - the two of them had spent the morning trying to count how many lions they could find as a game while they took an afternoon walk. He didn’t understand what had startled Sam. Then the lions blinked, swishing their tails.

“You see them, too, right?” Sam whispered in his ear.

“Yes,” he replied, unable to quite believe what he was seeing. The lions were small, just larger than an average house cat. Their bodies were not furry like real lions but seemed to be made of a smooth substance that looked very much like bronze or stone. Their eyes were the color of copper rubber by many hands and they stared at the two of them out of six intelligent eyes.

“You will follow us,” they said suddenly together in one voice.

Sam grabbed onto Itachi’s arm, her face blanching slightly. “Oh, my god they talk just like the computer from Portal.”

“The what?” Itachi asked in the same whisper, uncertain if he was more disconcerted by the voices that spoke in strange tones from the creatures or that they spoke at all.

“It’s a game,” she answered, crawling away from the edge of the water to stand slightly behind him. “There’s an AI computer that tries to kill you. They talk just like the computer… Like they… they don’t know the right tone to use.”

“You will follow us,” they repeated when the two of them didn’t move. There was no echo or misstep in their voice. They spoke together as one.

“To where?” Itachi asked. “We don’t know you and are strangers in Venice.”

“We will not leave Venice,” they replied, swishing their tails. “You will follow us, so that we may give a boon.”

Itachi frowned slightly. “What’s a boon?” he asked Sam, not having heard the English word before.

“Its, like..., a favor?” she said, still clutching his arm. “You want to give us a boon? What did we do?”

“You have done nothing for us. The boon is not for you. You are the boon,” the creatures replied.

“We can’t go with you. We’ve never seen creatures like you before,” Itachi said cautiously. “We are strangers here and can’t go without--”

“We know of your vampire,” the creatures responded. “We saw him with you last night. He is old and he is young. The vampires who live here are different. We are many and we see all.”

“Where did you learn to speak English?” Itachi asked next, wondering if it was dangerous to warn Deidara about these creatures. He didn’t want the vampire to come rushing to help them with the sun so high in the air.

“We listen to the visitors,” they replied simply. “We are many.”

Itachi looked at them for a moment then at Sam, who shared a look of uncertainty with him. He knew when he stepped off the boat onto the port that there were vampires in Venice. Many of the vampires he had met before sought grandeur in their undead lives, and he couldn’t imagine a place more splendid than Venice. Yet they had seen no vampires, save for one who they had walked by in St. Marks Square on their way back form the gondolas. That vampire had been sitting at a little table as if he had been carved there, seeming to read a novel, though his eyes had been fixed on Deidara who was still singing the song the gondolier they had hired sang while he drove them over the canals. Deidara had pretended not to see him and the vampire finally went back to his book. He wondered at the creatures, because Deidara hadn’t even noticed them while they were out, and he hadn’t noticed any of these cats when he and Sam had been out during the day, except for the statues. Itachi was certain that if he had noticed them before, he wouldn’t have let them go out today.

“Can you promise that we will come to no harm with you?” he asked finally.

The creatures regarded him, their heads tilting slightly as they did. He was pleased they didn’t move in unison as well. “We do not intend to harm. We are repaying a debt,” they said together.

He and Sam shared another look and Sam stood upright again. “The person you’re repaying won’t hurt us either?” she asked tentatively. “Our vampire will hold you responsible if we’re harmed.”

“He is capable, as all are, of causing harm,” they answered. “But the intention is harmless. You will follow so that we can give a boon.”

“Deidara is going to skin us alive,” Sam mumbled as they took steps together closer to the lions who fluttered their wings and leapt up the walls of a building, leading them down a stone pathway.

“Yeah,” Itachi murmured back. Thankfully his vampire had been consumed by a game on his phone, determined to beat Itachi who had finished the engineering puzzle game faster than the vampire had; he wouldn’t be checking in on them unless they were late coming back. Priscilla’s assurances that the flying cats would make him happy came back to him. What could they possibly have for him that would make him happy? They passed further away from the city center, catching Deidara’s attention, but as they were still in the city the vampire didn’t investigate further and Itachi was grateful. Deidara might not be stupid enough to come after them in the daytime, but he would certainly give Itachi a raging migraine for going so far.

“Can I ask you a question?” Sam called to one of the cats who had fluttered from a stone perch to a window’s tiny balcony.

“You may,” it replied, and though the others were further ahead, its voice held the many voices together.

“Are the St Mark’s lions based off you, or did you develop after the lions?” she asked.

“All symbolic things have an origin,” it answered vaguely, fluttering up onto the top of a building so they had to crane their necks to look at it before it moved ahead with its fellows.

Sam gave an amused scoff, much like her old self than the frightened one who spoke before. “They must be fae,” she commented. “Fae are experts at answering questions without answering at all.”

“I still haven’t really met any of the fae,” Itachi said, climbing over the little bridge that spanned over another canal.

“There’s only a few around our city,” Sam told him. “They don’t like vampires and after the industrial revolution, they were nearly driven out entirely. They can’t touch anything made of iron. It burns them,” she explained. “They’re dying out.”

“That’s sad,” Itachi replied softly.

“Yeah, except fae can be just as bad as vampires,” she told him, raising her eyebrows significantly. “They also eat humans, and they love stealing children.”

“Oh, I was reading about changelings,” Itachi told her. “But the author said there are actually much fewer changelings than are reported.”

“Really?” Sam asked curiously, keeping her eyes on the cats to follow them. “Why? It seems pretty straightforward to me… your child suddenly starts acting different, being fussy about certain things and distant… and iron burns changelings too.”

“Yes, but humans – normal humans – they used the stories of changelings to explain developmental things that we now have names for,” Itachi explained. “Things like autism and mental health.”

“Oh, that’s horrible,” Sam said sadly. “It’s like the witch’s history, isn’t it? Humans killing things they don’t understand.”

“Humans are singular thinkers,” came a voice to their left. One of the cats had fluttered down to walk along the bridge with them. “They do not think as one unless they panic.”

“Are you hive mind thinkers?” Itachi asked it curiously.

“We are,” it said. “We watch. We learn. We protect.”

It hopped once then spread its wings to glide across the water and touch down on a set of stone steps that would be used to get in and out of boats when their owners returned for the night. A young person sat there, dropping bits of crusts from pizza into the water to be gobbled up by… were they fish? Itachi stopped at the arch of the bridge and stared down at the creatures. Not fish. The closest thing he could think of were seals, but they were too small, barely larger than the winged lions that gathered to the water’s edge, looking at the face turned away from them.

“We brought you a boon for your help,” they told him, one of them dropped to the lowest step and rubbed its head against the creature that stuck its head out of the water to meet it.

“What boon?” the boy asked, dropping the last of the crusts into the water and looked up.

Itachi froze.

“Hello,” Sam said cheerfully, walking the rest of the bridge to kneel by the water. “What are these?”

“I’m not sure,” he answered. “One was stuck in this plastic,” he lifted a bag up off the ground next to him. “I untangled it and the cats said they were going to give me a present.” He looked at her, frowning. “I don’t know you, though. How are you a present?”

“She is not the boon,” the cats told him in their eerie voices. “The sealions are the kin of the skylions. It is an equal exchange.”

Sam stared at the lions who arched their backs and fluttered up to the top of the roof tops again. The creature in the water, pulled its head out to touch the boy’s hand before sinking back under, its shadow swimming gracefully away. She watched it go before looking back at Itachi, who stood rooted to the spot on the bridge. “Equal exchange?” she commented to herself then her eyes widened, looking from Itachi to the boy. “Oh, my god…”

“Wait, I know you,” the boy stated, spotting Itachi now. “You were at my house last year with the vampire.”

Itachi blinked, shaking his head to restart his thoughts again, but Sam spoke for him. “What?” she cried, standing up again. “You know about vampires? But your parents are human.”

“How do you know about my parents?” the boy asked suspiciously, standing himself.

She looked at him long and searchingly, biting her lips as though to keep herself from exploding, or crying. She then turned and walked back to Itachi who still couldn’t bring himself to move closer. “Because,” she said, taking Itachi’s arm and gently dragging him closer. “I found you for him,” she gave his arm a comforting squeeze.

“Why were you looking for me?” he demanded sounding angry at being confused.

“Sasuke,” Itachi finally found his voice and was surprised to hear it wasn’t shaking. “I’m Itachi, your brother.”


	11. Jealousy and Fears

Deidara slammed his phone down on the bed next to him in frustration.

It didn’t make any sense. Deidara didn’t understand. Itachi didn’t play video games. He didn’t have any games on his phone.

So why couldn’t he beat Itachi’s score?

He scowled at the ceiling. Typical. The one game that Itachi would be really good at, he was too good at. It was an engineering game. Deidara was good at that sort of puzzle games. He always had been. Sometimes he even beat Sasori, but here was Itachi who had finished the entire game in one week and no matter what he did, Deidara couldn’t beat his time or high score. Itachi just had a knack for being able to figure out what to do at just a glance. He had seen him do sudoku puzzles in less than a minute.

He hated losing.

Even if it was to Itachi.

What should he do now?

He hated being alone during the day, but he didn’t want to force Itachi and Sam to stay with him. Every time he started to, he could see a trapped and guilty look starting to grow on Itachi’s face, which made Deidara feel guilty. He didn’t like this at all. He liked when people listened to him and gave him what he wanted. Like his Maker, he wanted to be selfish.

His Maker… His thoughts drifted back to the castle, to the room no one could enter but himself, Itachi, and now Sasori. He hoped Itachi would withdrawal his invitation once this quest was finished. Memories of the last time Sasori had visited came back to him easily – Sasori forcing him to give Itachi his blood, so that Sasori could try to taste it through Itachi’s blood. He boiled with rage recalling the pain Sasori had put Itachi through for his own selfishness. He wanted someone to kill Sasori because he couldn’t, even in his helpless human shape he was now in, he hadn’t been able to free himself. Sasori was his Maker, a source of life and comfort no matter how evil he was.

The door to Sasori in his mind looked different as he found himself staring at it. He had spent centuries putting barriers against the door to keep the force on the other side from entering and plaguing him worse than he did on his own. Deidara reached out to touch the door and found it to be two dimensional. He frowned and grabbed at the chains, but they too were a painting against an imagined wall in his mind space. How strange.

Sitting down in front of the door, he studied it, thinking. Was it because of the curse that made him human that the door wouldn’t open? Or perhaps because Sasori was asleep? He should have tried to see if the door would open before they put Sasori to sleep and left. Their connection wasn’t gone, since the door was there and he could feel his presence on him like a lasting touch, but…

Something slid over his tongue and he stuck it out in slight alarm, but the feeling disappeared quickly and he turned his head to look at the mirror that stood in the center of the space, propped up like an archway that went no where and didn’t reflect the room. He grinned a little, wondering what Itachi and Sam were eating. Every so often, he could nearly taste the things that Itachi ate if Itachi felt their flavors worth noting. Pizza, in particular during this trip, he could taste because Itachi had grown critical of the types of dough and sauce he preferred. He had been disappointed when he couldn’t taste jelly beans from him, though Itachi had reasoned that they didn’t really seem to have a real taste anyway.

He turned back to the door and leaned back to continue contemplating it. The connection was still in place, but then where was it if it wasn’t for the door. He looked down at his wrist where the spider silk thread was wrapped around his wrist. Oh, that made sense… Itachi had once broken this string because it had followed them into their shared space, but once he had reopened the connection with his Maker it had appeared again, this time he could always see it if he looked; as if Sasori wanted to reminded him that he was not to escape him again. But, back to the point, how could he speak to Sasori if it was only this? How could he check on him? When Itachi had tried to find Sasori, the redhead had said he had sensed it through Deidara’s connection, but he had to slip through so many of the strands to find him. Deidara was still mad that Sasori had tried to infiltrate Itachi’s vulnerable mind space, even if it had been unsuccessful, but he wondered at the string. He could never go through the doors, even if he wanted to, because Sasori kept him and everyone else out, but could he slip through the thread?

Deidara glanced back at Itachi’s mirror in the middle of the room, wondering if he should check on them first, but decided against it. He didn’t want Itachi to be mad at him again like he had been in Croatia when Deidara realized that Itachi had talked Sam into teaching him how to drive. Pushing the thought of his other half away, he closed his eyes and sank out of his mind space and deeper into his conscious, thinking of Sasori and the thread. He knew his smell better than anything, maybe more than Itachi’s. He focused on the scent of his Maker and visualized himself sliding down the thread that had never seemed to have an end in his mind space. It took several attempts, but he finally felt himself slipping down through the silk he couldn’t touch and found himself moving along the strands of a vast, ancient spider web whose threads pulsed with life. He slid passed other branches, some that had other branches bursting from them and even more branches bursting from those, many that were lifeless, attached, but slack and dead. He looked back and saw that the thread he had slipped down had no branches coming from it, but there was something wrapped like a coil around the thread that wasn’t attached to the main cord that held them all together and he realized that the coil was Itachi, connected to himself, but not to Sasori. The threads that spread out must have been vampires that Sasori had made, their branches were their own Made that Sasori felt he had a claim to. There were many more lifeless threads than pulsing ones, but he noticed that the dead cords still had connections in the distance to alive ones. Perhaps Sasori’s Made who were dead, but their offspring still living – as much as vampires lived. He wondered if he could travel along all those threads to meet Sasori’s other Made, but decided it wasn’t safe and continued to slide down the thickest cord until he hit something that felt oddly solid in this place of abstracts.

This end felt slightly wrong. He was certain that it should have continued, but when he looked beyond, he found that he was on a cord that had once been a branch of another web, but the thread that was connecting the thick cord of Sasori was shredded and torn as though a wild animal had attacked tooth and nail, desperate to be separated. The thread was beyond dead, but something hadn’t even wanted a memory of that connection.

Deidara reached out to touch it, aware of what it was. Sasori’s Maker.

He recoiled, suddenly realizing he was too scared to touch it. He always thought he’d want to know about Sasori’s past before he had ripped through his own life, but seeing this thread here, he realized that something that would Make Sasori was not something he wanted to awaken even a memory of. Instead, he looked back and saw the vastness of Sasori’s web that held an account of every vampire he had Made, and their Made, and theirs. The family tree that had so many strong but lifeless threads. It was as vast and overwhelming as seeing the sky full of thousands of constellations, but these all came from one source. One single star. He couldn’t remember having only one mind – when he was human he would have had one, but he had been a vampire much longer and Sasori’s presence was something that had always been unavoidable, sometimes painful with the pressure forced on him. Itachi had had trouble when they had first shared souls, he had never had someone’s mind with his own there before. Deidara couldn’t imagine the weight of having all these thousands of connections all connected to his own mind. It was a wonder Sasori didn’t go insane from the weight of it and Deidara didn’t understand why he hadn’t cut the lifeless threads away. He could see his own star very clearly in the distance, the strongest and brightest with Itachi wrapped around him. Deidara’s chest swelled with pride. He was the favorite.

Turning back to where he had stopped on the cord, he reached out to grip the cord with his hands. It was hot and smelled so strongly of his Maker it surprised him. He could smell him better than he could when they were together, but that made no sense. Instead of thinking on that, he pushed his thoughts into the thread and fell into it, away from Sasori’s Made and into a new, familiar space.

Deidara had never seen the yard he had fallen into in the daylight, but he couldn’t tell if the light was daylight or simply a lack of night or day. The water that bubbled up from an underground source flowed happily over rocks and dripped from the plants that had gathered to feast on the oasis pool and he wondered suddenly where the water went when it left here, because the surrounding space was a vastness of desert, nearly impossible to find. The only way for a vampire to come to Sasori’s home was to run many miles in the dark to safe holes Sasori had dug strategically to hide from the sun during the day. He had only come here a few times because Sasori had wanted him to remember how to get there. In case, his Maker had always explained, just in case.

The blond turned and walked towards the house that looked as if it had stood there since the sun crept over the horizon for the first time. Its lines were straight and it stood only one story high, made of stones the same color as the desert’s sand save for a carved wooden door that Sasori had made himself years ago because he got annoyed at the dust that would sometimes blow into the house. There were two windows, opposite one another on each side of the house to stir the air, but otherwise it seemed more like an abandoned shell than a house the oldest vampire in existence would live in. He could hear something wafting out of the windows as he approached. It sounded like singing, though it wasn’t in a language he knew and he had never heard Sasori sing before and he wasn’t even sure it was Sasori’s voice. He reached out to open the door and found himself already standing inside.

Sasori was sitting in his favorite chair, playing with two small ball jointed dolls that were wearing handmade summer clothes. One had a shaggy mop of red hair and the other had golden yellow hair and he realized as he came closer that it was made to look like Sasori and himself, only slightly different. The one that was him looked more fae like than he thought he looked in real life. Was this how Sasori saw him?

“Sasori-danna?” he said aloud because the redhead didn’t seem to notice him.

No response.

Deidara frowned. When Sasori had entered Itachi’s dreams, he had been able to talk to Itachi. He wondered why he couldn’t talk to Sasori. Maybe it was because he was in an enchanted sleep instead of simply dreaming. And vampires didn’t sleep, so maybe dreaming was something so new to Sasori and himself that they couldn’t connect that easily. He watched Sasori use those invisible strings to make the dolls move together but Deidara couldn’t figure out what game they were playing. He could still hear the singing in the distance and he knew it wasn’t Sasori’s voice singing now that he was looking at him. Sasori seemed to notice it as well by the sudden glance he made to the corner. Worried. Deidara had never seen that expression on his Maker’s face before. Deidara now noticed the room looked oddly empty. He knew Sasori had a tv, several comfy chairs, and bookshelves full of games in his home in the desert, but this one was empty except for the chair he sat in. Unnerving. Itachi’s dreams were nothing like this. They were usually full of detail and vivid.

“Deidara?”

“Hm?” he answered, but Sasori still wasn’t looking for him. Instead, he had looked back down at the dolls in his lap and found only his own. To his surprise, he watched his Maker panic, scrambling around as he searched for the other doll, throwing things that seemed to appear out of no where out of his way. Sasori kept calling his name as his panic grew until he finally found the doll sitting on the shelf. Deidara stared as he threw away the doll of himself and clutched the Deidara doll as if its disappearance had scared him and Deidara became uncomfortable watching him because he felt bad for causing Sasori so much panic, but at the same time he felt the rage of his possessiveness.

“I am not your toy, un!” he shouted at the redhead, stamping his foot down. “You can’t keep me! I am not a thing!”

There was no response.

“Sasori… what do you have there?”

The new voice sent a chill down his spine, but he was sure he had never heard it before. To his surprise, Sasori flinched and clutched the Deidara doll tighter as if trying to hide it from the voice.

“Sasori…” It almost sounded affectionate, that voice, but something about it scared Sasori; he could see how the boy before him seemed to grow smaller and – though Sasori was little – he never thought of him as small. His presence was just too powerful for that.

“Answer me.” The word was powerful, a command and Sasori flinched again.

“It’s just a toy.” Sasori’s voice was quiet, furious and scared at the same time.

“Let me see it.”

Sasori glowered at a darkness in the room, his anger worse than Deidara had ever seen him, but he had never seen Sasori look so scared. “No,” he growled.

The voice became commanding again, though still affectionate. “Let me see you.”

Sasori moved as if he were fighting against an invisible force, but he finally he stood seething before the darkness. 

“There you are… I’ve missed you, Sasori. What do you have there? A new pet? Let me see it…”

“No,” Sasori growled angrily.

“Give it to—”

“No!” Sasori shouted, throwing a box of games at the darkness to disrupt the command he couldn’t disobey and turned to run out of the building.

Confused, Deidara began to follow him, but when he stepped out the door he found himself standing in his castle and Sasori was sitting on Deidara’s bed in the room he used for his sun time death when he didn’t stay with Itachi. Deidara walked up to him and watched him hug the Deidara doll close to his chest, muttering over and over again, “he’s dead. He’s dead. He’s dead. He can’t hurt us. I killed him. He’s dead.”

“Sasori?” he called again in confusion and concern, but still he didn’t answer him.

He was pulled suddenly out of Sasori’s mind and nightmare by a sudden wash of confusing emotions that hit him from his connection to Itachi. There were so many strong emotions he couldn’t figure how what the main one was or what the cause was. Forgetting Sasori, he reached out to Itachi, but there was no response. He stuck his hand down through their connection, trying to find out what had happened, but Itachi had thrown up his own defenses and he couldn’t get anything from him at all. Deidara growled angrily, hating when Itachi did this. He knew Itachi never liked showing his emotions but he shouldn’t be keeping himself out too! He pushed against the wall, but Itachi was ignoring his call.

Growing angry, he reached for his phone to call Itachi or Sam to demand to know what had happened, but he realized that in his frustration earlier, he had caused his phone to bounce off the bed onto the floor. The sun was still in the sky and he couldn’t move to get it.

 _‘What happened?’_ he called to his other half, beginning to panic a little. _‘Itachi? Itachi!’_

Nothing.

He made a soft noise and forced himself to roll onto his stomach. His bones felt brittle and his muscles dragged like sandpaper, but he forced himself to fight the death that gripped him, pulling from the parts of him that were Itachi who could survive the sun and grabbed at his phone. He was about to call one of them when a text message appeared on the screen from Sam.

_‘We ran into Sasuke…’ ___

__He stared at the screen, not fully understanding the words printed there. Itachi’s brother? How could he be here? How could Itachi have found him so easily? His human had been so dead set that Sasuke not know who he was – something Deidara still did not understand, so what was going on? Was that the confusing emotions he felt?_ _

__He wanted to get up and rush over to Itachi, but he still had an hour remaining and he would have to feed first. It was difficult to accept, but he had no choice and tried to relax into the bedding. Trapped with nothing but his own thoughts, he began to grow anxious. He was Itachi’s favorite, he knew this, but that was because he had thought Sasuke was dead. After he had discovered otherwise, Itachi’s thoughts had often drifted to his brother and not himself. Once, Itachi would dream almost exclusively about the last three hundred years of Deidara’s life, sometimes even his human life which he didn’t remember. Itachi had told him that he liked these dreams because it gave him more insight to his other half, humanizing Deidara more than he remembered how to now. Since their adventure with the Shadow Hunters, Itachi also had nightmares about Deidara being taken from him again, the Shadow Hunters ripping their souls apart, and … Sasuke. He tried to wake Itachi up if he started having a nightmare, but it took all his resistance not to wake Itachi up when he dreamed about Sasuke. They made Itachi happy, but the sad kind of happy that Deidara didn’t understand._ _

__And Sasuke was here now?_ _

__The flying cats will bring you joy._ _

__Panic and anger boiled in him all over again as he remembered Priscilla’s prediction. _He_ should be the one who made Itachi happy. Itachi was _his_. Sasuke was some stupid kid who didn’t know anything!_ _

__By the time the sun had set enough for him to rise, he had worked himself into such a rage that he left the house even earlier than he should have. He knew he should have gone to that paranormal restaurant and had some blood, but he had been left in the hotel all day alone and Itachi had continued to ignore him. He stormed through the narrow streets and over the canals, ignoring the late night tourists who gave way for him like they didn’t do for each other, sensing danger they didn’t understand._ _

__Deidara didn’t need his nose to find them, he always knew where Itachi was and found himself even more annoyed when he spotted them all sitting together outside of a café with cups of coffee. They should have been on their way back to him. The sun was set and they should have returned to him. Sam was there too, chatting with the brothers in a way that made him think that she was mediating the meeting. Itachi finally looked up when he felt Deidara approach, but he smiled a little as if he couldn’t tell that Deidara was angry at him._ _

__“Where the hell have you two been, un?” he demanded before Itachi could greet him, choosing to ignore the boy sitting across from his two humans. “Why didn’t you answer me?”_ _

__Sam’s expression was a little confused and worried, perhaps wondering if he hadn’t gotten her text earlier in the day, but Itachi’s expression became stony. He seemed to be debating whether or not to scold him or ignore his rudeness. Deidara clenched his jaw and Itachi ignored his rudeness. “Deidara this is my brother Sasuke,” he said. “He’s here on vacation with his adopted parents.”_ _

__Forced now to acknowledge the younger boy, Deidara turned to look down at Sasuke with scornful eyes. He looked the same as he had a few months ago when he had hoped to surprise Itachi with his discovery of his brother, like a copy of Itachi, though his hair was much shorter. He looked much younger than Itachi too, though he had never considered that Itachi looked old before. He had been wearing his school uniform last time they had seen him, but now he was in casual summer clothes and had the air of someone who was adored and spoiled which Itachi had distinctly lacked when Deidara had found him._ _

__Deidara decided he hated every inch of him._ _

__“Oh, I remember you,” Sasuke stated with his own look of scorn Sasori would have been impressed with. “You’re that vampire that was at my house when Itachi came, but didn’t say anything.”_ _

__“Wait, Sasuke, you never said… how do you know about vampires?” Itachi asked, interrupting whatever rude thing he was going to pull out of his head to throw at him. “Your mother told us they were trying to keep supernatural stuff from you.”_ _

__“My mom knows about them?” Sasuke asked, looking incredulous. “You’re kidding me.”_ _

__Itachi shook his head. “I’m not kidding,” he told him. “Your parents were friends with our family. She asked us not to speak to you when we visited because she didn’t want to put you in danger.”_ _

__“And you thought it was safer, too,” his brother responded as if clarifying a previously stated point and Itachi nodded. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably._ _

__“So how do you know about vampires?” Deidara demanded, still raging but uncomfortably aware that Itachi was displeased with him._ _

__“My best friend turns into a fox,” he finally admitted. “After you two visited, he came to walk to school with me and he said he smelled a vampire near the house. And not one that he’d smelled before. It’s not rocket science,” he added to Deidara. “I’ve never met a vampire before, you’re pretty disappointing. What are you? Twelve? So scary,” he added sarcastically._ _

__Deidara bristled like an angry cat as Sam made an ‘oh no’ sort of noise. “What did you say?” he growled._ _

__“Oh, are you deaf too?”_ _

__Deidara bent the iron chair back he’d been clutching in anger. “Why didn’t you answer me?” he repeated to Itachi, seething in anger, but knowing he couldn’t crush Sasuke to a pulp without making Itachi very angry at him._ _

__Itachi looked at him a moment, his expression unreadable and still he didn’t give him insight into his thoughts. “I was talking to my brother,” he said in a steely voice._ _

__“I texted you, Deidara,” Sam put in._ _

__“I wasn’t talking to you, un,” he snapped angrily at her. She cringed as if he slapped her and shank back into her seat._ _

__Deidara gave a slight cringe himself, feeling Itachi’s anger sharpen at him for being aggressive towards Sam. He stared stubbornly at Itachi who glared straight back at him. “I didn’t know what happened to you,” he stated, not liking how his fury had become defensive. “You didn’t answer me.”_ _

__Sasuke gave a derisive snort at him and Deidara flared up again. Itachi placed his hand down on the table lightly, but it got both of their attention and he looked at his brother. “Sasuke, don’t rile him up,” he chided gently. “Deidara is a very strong vampire, and I don’t want him to hurt you. He found you for me when I thought you were dead.”_ _

__He didn’t say anything to Deidara, which made him seethe, but Sasuke gave a shrug and leaned back against the back of his chair with his drink looking smug. “Why are you here, un?” Deidara asked through gritted teeth, clenching and unclenching his hands._ _

__Sasuke opened his mouth to say something smart, probably ‘none of your business, loser’, but seemed to think better at it with a half glance at his brother. “Graduation present,” he said, crossing his arms loosely and speaking to his brother. “I got accepted into an exchange program to finish high school in America, on track to go to university there as well.” He gave Itachi a grin as if he hoped that Itachi would be proud of him._ _

__Itachi smiled at him._ _

__Deidara wanted to throw Sasuke into the nearest canal._ _

__“When I saw you in front of your house,” Itachi said, “you were carrying a sports bag. What sports do you play?”_ _

__“Soccer,” he said at once. “And basketball, but I prefer to play basketball unofficially… you know, with friends and stuff.”_ _

__“I like to play soccer with my friends at home,” Itachi told him, smiling. “You know about vampires… my friends are werewolves. It’s pretty hard to play with them.”_ _

__“My friend’s a kitsune, but he’s kind of clumsy so we’re evenly matched,” Sasuke told him._ _

__His eyes that looked disgustingly like Itachi’s turned to Sam suddenly, but she answered quickly. “Not me,” she said with a smile. “I’m just a normal human. Where are you going to school?”_ _

__“Somewhere on the east coast,” Sasuke told her. “Near Washington D.C., in Maryland.”_ _

__“Oh,” Sam blinked suddenly, her scent changing slightly with some emotion. It was slight, but enough that it caught Deidara’s attention. “In Baltimore?”_ _

__“No,” Sasuke said shaking his head. “The high school isn’t, but some of the universities I was looking that are in Baltimore.”_ _

__“Is Baltimore important?” Deidara asked, tilting his head at Sam._ _

__“No,” she said a little too quickly. “Jack’s from Baltimore. He’s my friend,” she added to Sasuke, “another human who stayed with Deidara.”_ _

__Sasuke’s phone, which had been sitting on the table next to his empty coffee cup chimed and he glanced down at it. “My parents,” he explained, picking the phone up. “They want me to come back to the hotel now cause it’s late…” he didn’t look happy about leaving Itachi so soon. “I don’t want them to know you’re here… They might not want me to see you…”_ _

__To Deidara’s horror, Itachi immediately pulled his phone out and gave Sasuke his email and his phone number. They stood afterwards, Itachi assuring him that he would like to spend time with him tomorrow if he wanted and that he would love to talk to him more. They shook hands and Sasuke left, glancing back every so often as if checking to make sure Itachi hadn’t disappeared again. When he was finally gone, Itachi turned to give Deidara A Look, which stopped the blond from saying ‘finally’._ _

__“Now can we do something, un?” he asked instead, folding his arms tightly._ _

__“Sam and I are going back to the hotel,” Itachi said, offering his hand to her to help her up. Sam seemed on the verge of protesting that maybe they should stay with Deidara, but something about Itachi’s look made her stay silent and walk with him._ _

__“What?” Deidara cried, hurrying after them. “We were supposed to do something, un! I’ve been waiting all day all by myself.”_ _

__Itachi gave him such a dark look he stared at him, not understanding why he was so angry with him. “Are you going to apologize?” Itachi questioned._ _

__“For what?” Deidara demanded._ _

__Itachi stopped and turned to him, the movement putting himself between himself and Sam protectively which confused him until Itachi started on him. “To Sam, for being mean and frightening her,” he began. “To Sasuke for being rude to him—”_ _

__“He was rude to me!”_ _

__“To both of us for being a spoiled child and demanding that we spend all our time with you,” Itachi continued. “I know you can’t come with us during the day, but that isn’t our fault and we try to include you when we can, but that doesn’t mean you can yell at us when we can’t.”_ _

__He clenched his teeth so hard he thought he might break his fangs, but Itachi continued to stare at him with expectant anger. He looked at Sam who was staring at her feet with her arms wrapped around herself defensively. “You were a bit mean,” she said quietly into the silence, not looking up._ _

__Deidara shifted his feet uncomfortably, unsure of what to say. Before he could think of something, Itachi continued walking back to their hotel._ _

__Sam started to follow, then paused. “Deidara,” she said quietly, “Itachi was really surprised and happy to see his brother. I know you want to hang out with us on vacation, but he hasn’t been able to talk to his brother since they were kids…” She rubbed her arms, her anxiety so high he could smell it more than her usual scent. He felt guilty for making her scared._ _

__“I’m sorry I scared you,” he said, hunching his shoulders to his ears._ _

__She looked up at him. He didn’t understand the expression on her face. “Itachi is right, Dei,” she said softly. “You’re acting different from how we usually travel… I know you like Itachi and he’s really important to you, but you can’t always expect him to be able to drop everything to stay with you.”_ _

__“But,” Deidara began, clenching his fists as his temper flared, “I knew something had happened. I could feel it and he wouldn’t tell me what happened, un. And… and I couldn’t move, I thought something happened to him.”_ _

__The corner of her lip turned up slightly. “To him, hm?” she asked quietly, then continued louder, “I don’t think Itachi knew how to explain what he was feeling then. Aren’t you happy for him?”_ _

__Deidara turned on his heel and stormed away, angry that he was now confused on top of being angry, and Sam followed after Itachi to their hotel. He paused and went back, just to make sure the two of them got back to the hotel safely, then went back to the café and stalked after Sasuke’s scent. He didn’t smell nearly as good as Itachi, but like when he first met Itachi he smelled entirely human. His mother’s spell hadn’t been lifted from him. Like a shadow on the building, he climbed up to peer into the window of their hotel room, watching the two human parents asking their adopted Shadow Hunter son about his day and where he went and what he saw. He talked to them quietly and listened to them tell him about the gondola rides and the restaurants they visited. If Itachi hadn’t been in his father’s study as a child, he would be part of this family instead of trying to survive in Tokyo all by himself, miserable and depressed, and Deidara would have never found him._ _

__He scowled and slipped away. Itachi was his. Sasuke couldn’t have him._ _

__They had a job to do, he argued with himself, kicking at a piece of rock that had fallen from one of the buildings. It plunked satisfyingly into a canal; he resisted the urge to kick another one. They couldn’t spend more time here in Venice. They had to find the stone and return home. That was the whole point of this trip, right? Itachi kept reminding him of this; maybe he should start reminding Itachi. But what if Itachi yelled at him again. He hunched his shoulders. He didn’t like when Itachi yelled at him._ _

__“It’s very late,” said a quiet voice._ _

__He turned. A man was standing by a bridge that led to someone’s front door, dressed plainly in jeans and a long sleeved shirt, looking at him with a mild expression. “Not that late,” he replied in a grumble, trying to reel his anger in so he wouldn’t accidentally raise an alarm._ _

__“No, I suppose not,” the man said with a smile. “Don’t stray too far and get lost.”_ _

__“I won’t,” he replied and kept walking. He was a few houses away when he stopped with a frown, looking back. The man was gone, but something made him feel a little uneasy. He wasn’t sure what language the man had spoken to him in and he also wasn’t sure what the man had smelled like. Shaking his head and chalking it up to his frustrations, he slipped into the shadows of the city._ _

__He didn’t return to the hotel that night, finding a new hotel to hide in when the sun came up, spending the day annoyed with Itachi for being angry at him, for Sasuke for being alive, and himself for forgetting his charger when he left to find his humans. Miserable and lonely, he finally sought them out when the sun set again, peering around the corner where Itachi was leaning against a stone wall of a canal talking to his brother. There were shaved ice drinks in their hands. He watched Itachi intently, his posture was relaxed, his expression free of worry while Sasuke was talking about something stupid like a soccer game he had played in. A horrible thought came to him. Itachi liked Sasuke more than he liked him. Itachi never listened to him talk about games. Deidara made an unhappy noise and tugged miserably at his jacket sleeves._ _

__He suddenly had a better understanding of how Sasori felt._ _

__“Deidara.”_ _

__He flinched when Itachi called his name softly, suddenly wanting to run away. He heard Sasuke make a curious inquiry and could imagine him looking around for him, but Itachi and Deidara could never sneak up on one another – though Deidara was determined to succeed. Itachi knew he was there._ _

__Feeling unwanted and dejected, he slipped away without coming out and went to find Sam. If she had gone out that day, she had decided to give Itachi and Sasuke quality time together, for he found her in the hotel, lounging on the sofa with her feet swinging casually above her while she browsed online. He watched her for a few moments, observing the screen with a scowl. On it was something humanly evil. A bidding site for kidnapped girls. Sam had a knack for finding these and saving the images and names to track down missing people, she would send them to the proper authorities when she was through. It was her hobby, but also her revenge on what had happened to her. He watched her push up on her elbows suddenly and scribble faster. She had found something she had been looking for. Grabbing her phone, she dialed a number and waited for a few moments._ _

__“Do you know what time it is?” the voice on the other end was audible to Deidara as he silently opened the balcony door to slip in._ _

__“I’m sorry,” she said, though she didn’t sound very sorry. “I found one of the girls you asked me to look for, you were right, it’s the same people as the others.”_ _

__“Do you think it’s paranormal or human running the show?” Deidara blinked, suddenly recognizing the voice on the other end._ _

__“I’m not sure,” Sam admitted, tapping her pen against the paper she was taking notes on. “I might be able to find something, but I’m on a laptop not a computer so it’s a bit harder. I’ll try to find out more.”_ _

__“Well, thanks for letting me know… If you can find where the exchanges are being done, that’d be great, but I’ll shake things up here… after I get a decent night’s sleep.”_ _

__“Bye,” Sam said then put her phone back down._ _

__Deidara waited while she backed out of what she had been working on and closed her computer with a heavy sigh before speaking, “You talk to Kisame?” he asked._ _

__She jumped and nearly fell off the sofa. “Jeez,” she breathed, “you scared the shit out of me, Dei. Step on a creaky floorboard or something next time or something.”_ _

__“Sorry,” he said, meaning it as he came deeper into the room. He dropped down on a chair and waited._ _

__She chewed on her lip a little. “He called me,” she told him. “One of my contacts told him I might be able to help him with some dead girls he found and suspected they might have been killed by someone who’s involved in human trafficking because he recognized the missing person’s picture from another state – he’s in the U.S. right now.”_ _

__“I forgot you talk to Shadow Hunters, un,” he commented. She waited as if he might rebuke her for it, but he didn’t. Sam did good work for lots of people. “I’m sorry I yelled at you yesterday,” he said to his knees._ _

__“I accept your apology,” she replied, rolling onto her side so she could look at him better. “Dei… you can’t get mad at Itachi all the time,” she told him in a quiet voice. “I know you guys share souls and he’s so important to you, but you’re going to make him want to push away.”_ _

__He drew his feet up onto the chair and hugged his legs tightly. “Itachi doesn’t like me anymore,” he confided. He waited to see if she would deny this, but Sam didn’t say anything, but was giving him a pitying look._ _

__“Deidara,” she chided softly. “Sasuke is Itachi’s brother. He loves Sasuke.”_ _

__“Not me.”_ _

__She lifted an eyebrow at him. “Do you love Itachi? I didn’t think your relationship was a loving one,” she said softly._ _

__Deidara growled uncertainly, but not at her. “But he doesn’t care about my games,” he grumbled bitterly. “He doesn’t like hanging out with me. He doesn’t… he… It’s not fair, un!”_ _

__“Why isn’t it fair?” she asked._ _

__“Because Itachi is _my_ human, un,” he growled, his fists banging against his knees in frustration. “It’s not fair!”_ _

__She continued to look at him the way she did when he knew he was acting like a child. “Itachi can enjoy being around more than one person, you know that,” she said. “You don’t have a problem with him being friends and hanging out with the werewolves.” She waited, but Deidara didn’t say anything. “He’s not going to take Itachi away from you,” she told him in a gentle voice. “Not unless you push Itachi to being angry enough, but you share souls, he’s not going to leave you forever.”_ _

__Deidara made an unhappy noise and got up to climb out the window again to climb up on the roof and stare out over the city like one of the carved statues guarding the city, waiting for Itachi to come back. He wanted to talk to him about what he saw in Sasori’s dreams, how he felt conflicted over how scared his Maker had been of something he had overcome millennia ago. He wanted to know how Itachi had found his brother in such a busy city, and he wanted reassurance that Itachi wasn’t going to leave him for his brother. Ever since the Shadow Hunters had attacked them, he had been terrified of it._ _

__The image of Sasori clutching the doll version of himself made him cringe with guilt. He was furious with Sasori for keeping him like a toy, but wasn’t he beginning to do the same to Itachi? He closed his eyes and listened to the noises below. He heard Itachi’s voice greeting Sam and felt miserable again, hearing his human telling Sam about his meeting with his brother, what they had eaten, some things he had seen that he and Sam had missed. There was a lull in their talk for a moment and he suspected Itachi was asking if he had come back._ _

__“Deidara.”_ _

__He hunched his shoulders a little and frowned across the walkway to the stone lion that stared down at the square below._ _

__“Deidara, come inside please.”_ _

__Groaning quietly, he slid down off the roof and dropped onto the balcony lightly so he could climb into the window. Itachi was looking at him steadily, his jacket slung over his shoulder while Sam glanced between them. She didn’t seem concerned but Deidara felt anxious. His human didn’t say anything for a long series of heartbeats before he finally heaved a sigh and gestured to their bedroom. “Can I speak to you?” he asked, which just made Deidara feel more stressed but he followed him into their bedroom._ _

__He stood in the doorway – an easy get away – while Itachi sat on the bed and looked at him. Waiting. The silence stretched on. What were they waiting for?_ _

___Apologize_ murmured the warmth around his soul that had been Itachi’s._ _

__No! He shouted at himself in a slight panic. Why would he? He did nothing wrong. The word kept echoing in the back of his mind. Apologize. Apologize. And then another meaner voice spoke, as sickly sweet as the voice of Sasori’s Maker, _he will leave you if you don’t…__ _

__He felt as if he were swelling in panic at the thought. Sasori’s darkness had spoken to him like his Maker, his own wasn’t an evil that haunted him, but sludge in his mind, the blackness that sometimes attacked his memories in his mind space and turned them grey and lifeless. He did not know what it was and couldn’t get rid of it, but it had receded slightly when Itachi arrived and he was terrified he would leave him and become smothered by it. Itachi didn’t need him to have a foothold in this new terrifying world he’d been dragged into, he would have to make him stay. He remembered what Itachi had said to him months ago, that he did not want to be kept in a box, that he did not want to be made into a puppet like Sasori had tried to make him. He thought about Sasori dreaming that he was his toy that his Maker would try to take from him and he grew uncomfortable again._ _

__Itachi was looking at him curiously now, probably sensing his panic and wondering what he was thinking about._ _

__“You like Sasuke more than me, un,” he blurted out, which was not at all what he had intended to say._ _

__Itachi’s head tilted slightly to the side, expressing his confusion at the words, then he frowned as if considering them for the first time. “I don’t like Sasuke,” he finally said, relieving Deidara until he spoke again, “I love him. He’s my brother. But I don’t know him yet, so I’m not sure if I like him or not.”_ _

__Deidara frowned. That didn’t exactly make sense to him, but that was exactly the type of ridiculous things Itachi would come up with in his weird philosophical way. No wonder he got along with Tal and Kali so well. He started to say that he didn’t understand, but changed his mind. “Do you like me?” he asked, suddenly anxious again._ _

__The fact that he seemed to be taking the time to mull that one over did not make him feel any better. “Sometimes I do,” Itachi admitted, his eyes lowering to look at Deidara’s hands. “But you aren’t always an easy person to like.”_ _

__Deidara realized he was absentmindedly shredding his t shirt and stopped, though he wished he had something to do with his hands. He took the ruined shirt off and went to pull on another one from his suitcase. “We’re supposed to be looking for the stone, un,” he reminded him, knotting his arms tightly. “We’re on a quest, we can’t get side tr—”_ _

__He stopped at the look Itachi was giving him, which sufficiently conveyed without words that Itachi had been reminding him of this for days and Deidara had insisted on playing then so the blond had no room to tell him so himself. He paced a little to get rid of the pent up energy in him, knowing that he would have to apologize, but that Itachi wouldn’t accept it unless he meant it. But he didn’t mean it, he was still angry at being ignored, so he knew he would have to talk himself out of being angry and he couldn’t do it easily with Itachi staring at him expectantly._ _

__“How did you find him, un?” he finally asked, watching as Itachi finally looked away to pull off his jacket to hang in the closet._ _

__He listened in horror as Itachi told him about the flying lion creatures that had came to him and Sam, bringing them to Sasuke as a thank you for rescuing the sea lion creature from the garbage someone had thrown into the canals. Deidara couldn’t believe they put themselves in danger like that, but Itachi’s glance at him told him he was not going to listen to his complaints at their decisions. “Did you know these lived in Venice?” he asked the blond._ _

__Deidara shook his head. “I’ve never seen them, un,” he said, then – half whispered through clenched teeth because he couldn’t help himself, “you could have gotten killed.”_ _

__Itachi ignored the comment. “I’m going to take a bath,” he stated, taking a towel from the closet and walking out of the room. Deidara stayed behind, still feeling miserable that he had angered Itachi. _‘You can come too.’_ came the soft murmur in his mind and he nearly launched himself out the room to follow after him._ _

__“You scared me,” Deidara finally got out after they had been soaking in the hot bath water together in silence. As soon as he said it, Itachi seemed to relax a little bit, his anger at him lessening. “You… you freaked out, and pulled me out of Sasori’s dream and then you didn’t answer and I couldn’t move… I’m sorry I yelled at you, un.”_ _

__Itachi started to say something, then seemed to hear everything that he had said and sat up a little. “Sasori’s dream?” he asked._ _

__Deidara told him about his adventure into the threads of Sasori’s control, reaching out to take Itachi’s hand which helped project the image of the vast web of connections his Maker had, how they became like an image of the night sky before it became polluted with light. He told him about Sasori’s home, which seemed to interest Itachi a lot, and the toy he was playing with, and the monster that had actually scared the scariest monster he had ever known. By the time he was finished, he had slipped closer to Itachi and their legs were tangled together under the water. Being physically close to his other half made much of his anxiety slip away and he couldn’t quite remember why he had been so aggressive all day._ _

__“When Sasori gave me his blood,” Itachi began slowly, as if he was still sifting through his thoughts, “I saw his Maker… well… I didn’t see him, but I experienced the time right before they met. I think Sasori was very frightened when he was Changed, everything was so dark.” He looked up at Deidara and the vampire was relieved that the anger was no longer in his eyes. “Sasori told me the dark was the only thing he remembered from his human life. And you told me that Sasori didn’t use that control Makers have over their made on you because Sasori’s Maker used to force him to do things with it. His Maker probably scares Sasori because he was the only one who could control him.”_ _

__“It’s true,” Deidara said, tilting his head to the side, his hair floating around on the surface. “He used to punish Sasori for disobeying with it, too… I mean, Sasori never told me this, but I’ve tasted it in his blood before. His Maker forced him to do all kinds of things… like from really little things to big things.”_ _

__“That does not make him pitiable,” Itachi stated with unexpected aggression. When Deidara stared at him, Itachi dropped his gaze to the water between them looking uncomfortable. “Just because someone has had a difficult past does not mean their actions should be excused. Which is why,” he added, looking up at him with that stern look on his face that made Deidara wish he could drown himself, “I am not letting you throw fits whenever I don’t devote my every waking moment to you. You need to learn that I have friends other than you and not be so afraid all the time.”_ _

__“I’m not scared of anything, un,” Deidara said defensively._ _

__“You are,” Itachi countered, leaning back against the side of the tub and closed his eyes. “I don’t want you to get taken away from me either, but I trust you will come back when you go away.”_ _

__“But,” Deidara whined, crossing his arms tightly across his chest, “I’m so much stronger than you… of course I’ll come back…”_ _

__“I can’t become strong too if you keep me in a box,” Itachi reminded him._ _

__At a loss of what to say and needing to change the subject, Deidara inserted, “we still have to look for that stone so we can go home, un. This vacation sucks. I want to see cool things and play games and go swimming or something…” He kept his thoughts to himself, but on the other side of the tub, he could practically read the sentence running across Itachi’s forehead like a billboard sign: ‘I’ve been trying to tell you that for a week’._ _

__“Sam and I will sleep,” Itachi said instead. “Afterwards, we’ll discuss where to go next… The next line that Priscilla told me is that we will speak to Death.”_ _

__“My least favorite line,” Deidara grumbled, but he wedged into the small space between Itachi and the side of the tub and rest his head against the crook of Itachi’s neck and he was delighted when Itachi wrapped his arms around him._ _


	12. Alone Time

Deidara grumbled as he reached for his pocket and found it to be already full. He checked the other. Also full. “Itachi,” he called as he splashed around, “can I use your pocket?”

Itachi stopped his walk with his brother and turned to face him looking confused. “My pocket?” he asked.

He held up the shell he had picked up. “My pockets are full,” he explained, pushing his lower lip out a little. The pout disappeared into a grin when Itachi smiled at him and came over to take the shell from him and tucked it safely in his pocket. “Is it good?” Deidara asked, eyeing one of the drinks the two brothers had bought from a tiny stand.

“Yes,” he said, his soft smile spreading. “I’m glad we decided to come here, even thought it took so long to get here.”

“Worth it~” Deidara replied, grinning as he dragged his bare feet through the gentle waves sliding their way over the sand, his shoes hanging around his neck to keep them dry. Lido di Venezia had been on his list of possible places to visit, but it had taken a bit of convincing to get Itachi to take the hour long journey by boat and bus to get to this stretch of beach. His human was torn between wanting to discuss where to go next for their quest and spending time with his brother while he could, so Deidara had caved and suggested that they invited the obnoxious duckbutt haired mini-Itachi. Sam had come up with the clever solution that she meet Sasuke’s adopted parents, pretending to have befriended Sasuke in the city, so they would let Sasuke go with her and so the brothers would have more time alone – she had decided to have a day in at the hotel instead of going with them and Deidara suspected she wanted to have alone time and talk to her friends. Sneaky. Deceptive. Teaching bad habits to youth like lying to parents. How could Deidara pass that up? The two brothers had continued to talk as they walked the darkened beach lit by the resort lights behind them with Deidara following them slowly. He didn’t want to talk to Sasuke if he didn’t have to, but didn’t want to make Itachi angry again. Difficult, because Sasuke was one of the most annoying people Itachi had ever decided to befriend. He enjoyed the trip himself, happy to wade through the water and collect shells and sea stones, keeping a protective eye on his favorite and least favorite human.

Something licked his ankle under the water and the first thought that ran through his head was annoyance that Itachi decision to not get in the sea after witnessing the sea lions and their kin, the sky lions – which he still hadn’t been able to spot yet – was justified. His second was that things in the sea generally didn’t lick things. Like vampires, they tended to taste by biting. He looked down and let out a delighted shriek that caused both brothers several yards away to spin around in alarm. Crouching down, he lifted out of the water a small creature with three tiny, lizard like heads with tiny fins bordered by little barbels on the sides of their faces. The heads melded together at its body, two claws gripping his hands while its tail spilled over to dangle in the water. It was about the length of his arm and covered in soft scales that let it blend easily with the sea stones and rocks that littered the shore.

“What is that?” came Sasuke’s interested voice behind him. The two brothers stood just outside the gently breaking waves, still wearing their shoes, they both looked fascinated and Itachi pulled out his phone to take a picture. Deidara was so pleased Rose had taught him that habit.

“It’s a baby hydra, un,” Deidara squeaked, using his thumbs to rub the creatures underside.

“The cut off the head and two more grow hydra?”

Deidara nodded, dipping his hands back into the knee deep water in case the creature breathed underwater. It rolled slightly in his hands then stuck all three heads out of the water to look at him curiously. One bit his arm – no more than a tiny pinch with teeth the size of a kittens claw – and it seemed to gag. Not very tasty. He grinned at it, instantly in love.

“The poison breath and blood hydra?” came Itachi’s more cautious question. “I thought hydras lived in swamps.”

Deidara turned to stare at Itachi. It was so rare that his human knew things about mythological creatures, but Itachi gave him a look that clearly proclaimed, ‘I do know some things’, without even needing to tap into their connection. “Usually yeah,” Deidara said, letting the creature back into the water. It did a few more rolls, one tiny head lifted up to flick its serpentine tongue over his knee before it swam away, perhaps recognizing that he was not a fish. “They were hunted by … some people a lot a long time ago, so maybe they evolved to live in more safe places.” He felt Itachi’s anger rise a little, knowing that ‘some people’ meant Shadow Hunters. “I’ve only seen one once a loooong time ago and it was the size of a house.”

“What did you do to it?” Sasuke asked, and Deidara was pleased by the look of amazement on his face.

“Left it alone,” Deidara said with a shrugging gesture. “It was two-thirds asleep and I didn’t want to tangle with its awake head.” Sasuke’s phone rang before he could ask another question; he mumbled something about his parents and stepped away to answer it. “Do you think vampires could survive under the sea where the sun can’t touch us, un?” he asked Itachi, thoughts of adventures delving the unknown ocean for legendary creatures filling his mind.

“I don’t think so,” Itachi told him apologetically, though it was with a smile. “Not without a submarine. You go into your Suntime Death even when you’re not in direct sunlight, and even though you’re strong, you’re not invincible to the weight of all that pressure.”

He grunted in disappointed acceptance. “Can’t go into space, can’t go underwater… trapped like a rat,” he muttered, sloshing out of the dark water to stand next to his human.

“How many sea stones and shells are you taking back home?” Itachi asked suddenly, eyeing his bulging pockets.

“At least two,” he stated, grinning and tugging gently on Itachi’s t-shirt. Itachi gave a soft sigh of affectionate exasperation and held his hands out to take some of the shells to put in his own pockets.

“My parents said they want me to come back,” Sasuke said with an annoyed sigh. “I’m old enough to go to school on the other side of the world, but not old enough to spend the night with a friend I only just met.”

Good, Deidara thought to himself, but Itachi still gave his side a disapproving flick.

“Do you want us to go back with you?” Itachi asked.

His brother shook his head. “They’re going to pick me up at the dock, so probably not a good idea…”

“We’ll walk you to the bus stop at least,” Itachi stated and Deidara gave a roll of his eyes that no one saw and followed the two away from the shore, lightly kicking up sand with his toes for the fun of it.

They could have waited for the next bus, taking the next ferry to go home, but Deidara was happy when Itachi asked if he wanted to stay at one of the hotels on this strip of land, rather than go back to share the hotel with Sam. Both of them liked Sam very much, but it was much easier in the castle to get time alone than it was in their small hotel rooms. Because he was a money guzzling goblin – a phrase originally coined by Kit, but he still enjoyed it, he rented out an apartment on the land’s only golf course in hopes that he’d be able to watch the people begin what was undoubtedly the most ridiculously glorified, expensive, and useless hobby humans had ever come up with, but he was disappointed to find his window to the outside world didn’t face the golf courses.

“I thought you liked all games and sports,” Itachi commented, watching him play on the spiral staircase that led to the bedroom on the second floor.

“Golf is not a game or a sport,” Deidara stated, climbing back up the stairs from below like they were monkey bars. “It’s a competitive hobby.” Upside down he could see Itachi didn’t understand the statement, but his human seemed to accept his weirdness and climbed the stairs properly like a boring person, carefully avoiding his fingers as he went, and began making sure the room would be dark enough for the day time.

“Deidara?”

“Hm?”

“Thanks for being polite to Sasuke today,” Itachi said. The blond flipped back upright, swinging a little until his feet touched the railing and he walked up it to stick his head through the floor to look at him. He gave his human a one shoulder shrug and began emptying all the shells and rocks he had collected onto the dresser; they were all so different, he couldn’t choose which to take home. He supposed he would have to just take them all. 

“I’m sorry that I have been impatient with you lately,” he continued while Deidara arranged the shells by color.

He turned to look at his human, then squirmed uncomfortably. “I know you’re worried about Chloe, un,” he mumbled. “You don’t have to apologize… I’m sorry I… made you impatient?”

To his surprise, Itachi came over and touched the side of his neck, the warmth of his aliveness shooting through Deidara’s whole body and making him turn back to face him. “I do enjoy traveling with you,” Itachi told him. His closeness made Deidara realize how hungry he was. Sips from little knife cuts and drinks made from packaged donor blood were not nearly satisfying enough. He had hunted twice, but he hadn’t realized how hungry he was until this moment. Or maybe he was hungry because he could tell that Itachi was willing to let him feed properly now that they were alone.

If he had known that being alone meant Itachi would be willing to feed him and relieve some of his own stress, he would have sent Sam to a different hotel days ago. He grinned happily and stood up straighter as Itachi leaned down to kiss him.

Later, Deidara felt rather than saw Itachi finally stir and get up. It was around 11 and the sun was in the sky now; he kept his eyes closed. The apartment he had rented for them for two nights was white, but even white looked uncomfortable in his suntime death. He listened as Itachi stretched and cracked his back and slipped silently into the bathroom. Even in his suntime death he felt better now, relishing in the infinite cycle of being full of Itachi’s blood and Itachi feeling good himself. Maybe it had been slightly more than sort of his fault Itachi was on edge. His human was worried about his friends, feeling feelings about his brother, and Deidara was hungry and overwhelmed by losing his humans and fearing for Itachi.

Balance, he could practically hear Belle’s voice in his head, though he wasn’t sure if the memory of her saying it was his own or Itachi’s.

After pausing to adjust the blankets around him – as if he was sleeping – Itachi went downstairs without saying anything to him, following the smell of cooking. He grinned a little. He hadn’t cooked for Itachi in a long time and was happy that he brought the tray of food upstairs to sit on the bed next to him.

“It’s a nice gesture,” Itachi began, “but you could wash the dishes too, you know.”

Deidara cracked an eye open and watched him sip his coffee. “I ran out of time,” he murmured back, which was both a lie and not really a lie. He had purposefully dawdled so he wouldn’t have time to wash them. He hated washing dishes.

Itachi made an amused noise as if he knew Deidara’s reason perfectly well and had decided not to comment on it. “Deidara?”

“Hm?” he murmured back. A long pause in which Itachi sipped his espresso. Not a good sign.

“I want to go to the United States.” Itachi wasn’t looking at him, but picking at the sweet bread Deidara had bought when he walked to a bakery. Deidara didn’t answer, wondering what this had to do with their quest. “I want to go to Maryland,” Itachi continued, still staring down at his espresso, “I want to… make sure that Sasuke will be safe there.”

Deidara resisted making a face. “But…” he started, uncertain of how to refuse without making Itachi angry.

“I know we’re trying to find the stone so we can go home,” Itachi answered for him, shifting on the bed. “Did you make this coffee?” he asked suddenly, taking another sip. Deidara made a noise of agreement. “It’s really good.”

Deidara wasn’t sure if he appreciated the note of surprise in his voice.

“I want to find the stone and go home,” Itachi continued after a few more sips, “but we don’t have an idea of where to go next. I still don’t think Priscilla’s prediction was much help because we only went to those places because she saw us there.”

“Yeah, Sam told me about your infinite knowledge of everything, un,” Deidara commented quietly.

Itachi gave a sheepish look and pulled apart the bread to dip in the runny yolks of the eggs. “I don’t know what she meant by speaking to Death,” he continued, “but we don’t know where to go next. We don’t have any idea how to find this stone. Mesi was right about the impossibility of finding one stone in the entire world. It’s incredibly frustrating, but since we don’t know, why not go to America? Sasuke will be all on his own when he goes, and I know the spell is still keeping him safe, but… I don’t know what sort of things live in America…”

“Everything lives in America, un,” Deidara commented blandly. “Humans always seem to think you only find one type of creature where they originated, but creatures travel just like normal humans do, and all types of people live in the United States.”

“Exactly…”

“How are you going to make sure he’s safe?” he asked, trying not to sound accusing or argumentative.

“I don’t know,” Itachi admitted. “I’m just worried about him. Perhaps that’s part of what we have to do.”

“You don’t think that, un. You just want to dote on your brother,” he mumbled. “Why did Sam ask if he meant Baltimore?”

“I noticed that too,” Itachi commented, setting his plate down on the floor by the bed and leaning back against the pillows next to him. “She didn’t say anything to me about it, but maybe it is cause that’s where Jack is from.”

“I miss Jack,” he grumbled quietly. Jack was always his most playful human, delighting in movies and classic games just like he did. He missed movie nights and listening to the disgruntled noises from his room when he stayed up late to watch his American Football games during the fall and winter despite the time zone difference. “Do you think he’d come back if we went to Baltimore, un?”

Itachi was silent as if thinking over the question and wondering how to answer. “How many humans have you had since you became a vampire?” he asked instead of answering.

Confused, Deidara opened his eyes to look at him. “What do you mean?”

“Since Sasori Made you, how many humans have you kept?” Itachi asked again. “Can you remember them all?”

He was silent, ready to pull a number out, but realized he really didn’t know. He opened his mouth, ready to begin listing names, and found he only had about ten on hand, and there should have been a lot more. Perhaps he could sift through his mind space and figure it out, but all that came to his thoughts were vague voices and blurred faces of different people who were once close friends. He tried not to let his panic rise, but Itachi was already there to place his hand on his shoulder in comfort.

“I didn’t ask to make you feel uncomfortable,” Itachi told him softly, resting his head down on the pillow. “I just mean… if someone wants to go, you need to let them. Even if it’s hard. If Jack wants to come back, he will. If you want to still be friends with Jack, you still can. You can invite him to come with us if we go, but don’t expect him to want to stay with you. You’ll forget about us all eventually.”

Wanting to forget his uncomfortable lapse in memory, nor Itachi’s certainty that he himself wouldn’t last forever, Deidara turned his head to allow himself to breathe in Itachi’s scent. “I have an idea,” he murmured. “When we get back to Sam, lets ask the sky lions if they know anything about the stone, un. You said they said they see everything, so maybe they know something about it.”

“Mm… Maybe,” Itachi murmured, seeming to think it over, but Deidara suspected he was thinking about Sasuke instead.

The vague tingles of jealousy began to rise, but then Itachi rolled over and wrapped his arm around him with a sigh to settle in for a slightly longer sleep and Deidara beamed. Itachi wouldn’t do this with Sasuke, he told himself in amusement. He frowned to himself; well that would certainly be weird because they were brothers, but still. It was hard to relax when the sun was crawling as slow as possible across the sky, but it was easier the first few hours with the very alive Itachi breathing deeply next to him, but he felt crushed by death when his human finally woke up again and went to wash his mess of dishes and go for a walk on the beach. It made Deidara want to fly back home and pay that witch any amount of money she wanted to turn him into a human. Sasori could go out in the sun, he was alive during the day now. It wasn’t fair.

Too dangerous, whispered a voice in his head.

He knew that. The witch might kill him. Or someone else would kill him. He supposed he had a lot of people who wanted him dead, but he was too strong for them to get rid of now. The vampire council knew its alliance with him was shaky at best, and they had only let him be because he was stronger than most of them. Just like his Maker. He supposed the vampire council would kill Sasori for him, but they might do worse. Those greedy sacks of cats would want to torture Sasori, to draw out his end and then want the spell for themselves. Deidara wasn’t really a fan of slow deaths. That was Sasori’s forte. His first kill as a vampire was something he still remembered – possibly because Sasori used to enjoy telling it to any of the vampires he Made or collected after him, emerging from death’s clutches a fully capable monster just like his Maker, murdering Sasori’s strongest Made because she had made him mad. Though he couldn’t remember what she had done to make him hate her so much now.

Sam met them at the pier when they arrived back after the sun finally went down and she happily excepted the sea shell and stone Deidara had chosen for her, she added them to one of the leather cord necklaces around her neck, carefully pushing it through the natural holes the sea had eroded in them – exactly why he had picked them out for her; he beamed proudly. They talked briefly about the Lido beach while they walked, but Deidara quickly told Sam about his idea to question the flying lions about their quest and she agreed they might be able to help.

“Besides,” Deidara continued, walking on one of the stone and iron railings that protected idiots from accidentally walking into the canal below, “I want to make sure they’re safe.”

“Deidara,” Itachi chided in an exasperated voice, “we’ve been here for days and they haven’t bothered us. I don’t think we’re important enough to cause them worry enough to attack us. Venice is their home.”

“I talked to Chloe,” Sam brought up suddenly, sliding her hands into her jeans. “She says there’s been a larger outbreak of fighting in the family. People are taking sides and Chloe requested to Jasper that Mesi, Priscilla, and a few of the younger witches stay in the castle grounds.”

“What?” Deidara snapped, spinning to face her. The thought of witches in his castle made his skin crawl.

“Chloe has refused,” she continued as if she hadn’t just imparted such conspicuous information. “She wanted them to be safe… well mostly Priscilla, it seems. Mesi can hold her own, but the other witches want to use Priscilla because of her ability to… well—”

“Her creepy psychic ability they won’t admit is psychic, un,” Deidara said, hopping down from the rail and pacing a little. “Witches in my house…”

“The two of them won’t do any harm,” Itachi said soothingly. “Jasper is in charge, he’s not going to allow them to cause problems.”

Deidara gave Itachi a sideways look, uncertain if he was trying to calm him down and insult him at the same time. Was he saying that it would be chaos if he was in charge? He was good at chaos.

“Is Chloe okay?” Itachi asked.

“She seemed mostly stressed,” Sam told him as they started walking again. “She also said Priscilla hasn’t had any new info for us about the stone, but said again that she dreams about you leaving her.”

“Why would Itachi be leaving, un?” Deidara demanded, connecting too many recent events.

He felt Itachi’s focus on him and turned to climb back up onto the rail, uncertain whether he was about to be scolded for worrying again or reassured that Itachi wasn’t going anywhere. Before he could avoid or receive clarification, a flying cat hopped up on the rail with him and swished its tail as it settled down.

“We heard you wish to speak with us,” the creature said in a strangely off-toned voice that sounded unnerving.

“Wow, they do sound like the computer from Portal, un,” Deidara commented, crouching down to examine the creature. It wasn’t exactly a lion like the statues around the city, it didn’t exactly have a mane like a lion, but its neck had a ruffled look and its eyes were a solid mass. “I think they look more like a pokemon then a lion.”

“We are not a child’s game,” the creature said, its voice echoing identically behind him. He turned and there was another one speaking with the other creature. Not liking being surrounded, he dropped off the rail and put himself between his humans and the creatures. “You are a Child Vampire,” they stated together. “They are very rare, only two known in existence. The vampires of Venice have been talking about you since your arrival. You make them nervous.”

Deidara smirked. None of the vampires here had approached him yet. There wasn’t a Master like there was in other cities, the vampires lived by the same rules of the Vampire Court without a Master to keep that peace. It was easier with the tourist places for the supernatural like Tokyo had. “Cause I’m a seriously dangerous vampire, un,” he told them.

“You are a strange one,” they admitted. 

“What did you want with my humans?” he demanded, folding his arms. Behind him, Itachi gave his elbow a slightly flick.

“We did not want anything with your humans, nor did we intend them harm, nor did they come to any harm,” the creatures said, keeping their eyes fixed on him as he glanced from one to the other, not entirely sure which one to look at. “We were returning a boon. The two humans have the same last name. What did you wish to speak to us about?”

“You told us,” Itachi began giving the back of Deidara’s shirt a slight tug as if he was worried about how rude Deidara would be, “that you see and hear things all over the city because you are hive minded creatures.”

“That is correct,” they replied.

“There’s actually been no recordings of true hive minded creatures,” Itachi said, sounding like his old information obsessed self. Not accusing them of lying, but finding them as endearing as Deidara did baby monsters like hydras. “There’s swarming creatures, but they aren’t linked telepathically. Is that what you are? Telepathically a hive mind? How do you keep yourselves sane from so many voices?”

“It is all we know. We do not understand how humans can stand such silence,” they countered and Itachi looked thoughtful.

“We were sent to look for something,” Sam told them. “A family of witches had a grimoire stolen from them in the shape of a stone. We need to find it to help our friends. One of the witches told us several places she saw us during visions, our next clues are to speak to death and meet a dragon who would give us a present.”

The wings of one of the cats fluttered slightly as the other swished its tail pensively. “We cannot answer this question,” they finally answered. “We must look deep into our thoughts for this memory. If we can find it, we will come to you.” They arched their backs to stretch, then fluttered up the walls of the building. “Child Vampire,” they called down to him in their chilling voices, “we see your gentleness. It is noted.”

He blinked. “Gentleness?” he asked aloud even though the creatures were already gone. “Am I gentle, un?”

“Like a brick to the face,” Sam commented with a grin.

Itachi placed his hand on his back to gently walk him forward. “Perhaps they meant with the baby hydra,” he suggested. “You were very gentle with it.”

“Oh, my god,” Sam cried, her hand flying over her mouth. “Please tell me you got a photo. I’ve never seen a hydra, I didn’t know they were real!”

“I have one on my phone,” Itachi assured her. “Let’s get something to eat and I’ll show you.”

The next two hours were spent at a small restaurant, _Osteria Al Squero_ that seemed to consist solely of appetizers – cicchetti, Itachi had discovered after asking. It seemed to just be anything you could possibly put on half a sandwich, from thin slices of cured meats, to fish, to vegetables, to an entire pickle. The two humans also had a glass of wine with their meal and they seemed so delighted by all the food that they were given a few extra things as well. Deidara licked the smoked salmon before Itachi ate it, but found it too salty – even if he couldn’t actually eat it. The wine tasted like rotting waste that sucked the moisture out of his mouth, which prompted Sam to demand why he even bothered to try it, but it had made both his humans laugh. Moods lighter from the food and atmosphere, they returned to their hotel, crawling into their beds after showering and even though he still had a few more hours of darkness left, Deidara curled up against Itachi, sharing his warmth and the happiness he was feeling from their adventures so far.


	13. Strangers on a Train

He really wanted to jump into the canals at least once before they left, but Itachi kept reminding him that it wasn’t allowed and they should follow the rules. His human was reading on one of the chairs by the balcony windows while Deidara sat on the rails looking down at the people walking by. The city was bursting with energy, but not the bustling type that many cities had but a flow and eb like the sea that swirled around and through the city. He squirmed a little, wanting chaos.

“Deidara…”

Itachi’s warning tone made him pout and slip away from the window, moving to climb onto the chair with him. “Just a little bit, un,” Deidara assured him as Itachi shifted so Deidara could slide into the cushion easier. “Tiny bit of chaos.”

“Hey, guys?” Sam came up to them from her room smelling anxious, wringing her hands and rubbing her arms lightly. “Can I talk to you about something?”

“Of course,” Itachi said, placing his book on his knee upside down to mark his page. “What is it Sam?”

She looked in Deidara’s direction, but he felt that she wasn’t looking at his face, but more his shoulder region, then she looked at Itachi. Somehow she felt safer looking at Itachi in the face, which Deidara didn’t quite understand. “I’ve been thinking,” she began, “and… I… I want to go to Baltimore.”

“Why?” Deidara asked, a little more aggressive than he intended and felt Itachi’s look. He cleared his throat and curled his bare feet up to stick under Itachi’s legs. “Sorry,” he mumbled, “how come?”

“Well,” she said, exhaling slowly and sat down on the chair opposite them, “I’ve been thinking. I know you want me to find new friend to make me get over what Kit did to us, but I don’t think a new friend is going to help me right now.”

He frowned in confusion and glanced at Itachi who had a sympathetic expression on his face. “Why not?” he asked, shifting uncomfortably. It seemed pretty reasonable to him.

“I don’t know,” Sam said, dropping her eyes to her knees. “I just… I want to heal from that sort of… abandonment and Wes d—…leaving us. I don’t think a friend will help with that.”

“What would help?” Itachi asked softly, tucking a slip of paper into his book to close it. “What will help that’s in Baltimore?”

She stared at her knees a few long seconds. Deidara didn’t quiet understand how her scent was changing, she seemed stressed and hopeful at the same time. He looked at Itachi, but Itachi didn’t look at him. Instead, he gave Deidara a gentle push of reassurance and a request to be silent. Silence was difficult.

Finally, Sam looked up at Itachi, her dark eyes vulnerable and seemed to carry a worry that she wasn’t able to express. “My… my mom,” she said quietly, “is in Baltimore.”

“I thought she lived in Atlanta, un,” Deidara asked despite Itachi’s desire for him to be silent.

“Yeah, she did,” Sam told him. “I… I wanted to go back to her, but I was scared she’d be angry with me. So later, when you know, I was more settled with you Deidara, I pretended to be a journalist researching missing black girls and tried to call her cause I wanted to hear her voice again, you know?” Deidara didn’t quite get that either, but Itachi nodded in understanding. “No one answered at my house, so I called her work and the lady who used to work at the desk next to her said she couldn’t stand being home anymore because she thought I was dead and, um… she got a job in Baltimore. So I did some snooping, and I found her again.”

“You can find anything,” Deidara commented, completely unable to not say anything.

“You want to see her again?” Itachi asked in a gentle voice.

“I just want to apologize,” Sam told him.

“What happened wasn’t your fault, Sam,” Itachi told her.

She bobbed her head quickly. “I know, I know,” she said with a little shake of her hands, “but I could have told her I was alive and okay, or… or gone back home to her… Something.”

“But,” Deidara said pointedly, “if you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have made friends with me and Itachi. You wouldn’t be able to do all that cool secret website work that helps find missing girls.”

“I guess,” she said with an uncomfortable shrug. “But I’ve been thinking more and more that I really want to see her. And,” she said with more enthusiasm, “I mean… if you wanted to, we could look at where Sasuke will be going to school.”

“Ugh,” Deidara grunted softly. “Did you two plan this out, un?”

Itachi gave a soft aggravated sigh and rubbed his temples a little. “No, we didn’t, Deidara,” he told him. “Stop jumping to that conclusion.”

“What conclusion?” Sam asked.

“I also wanted to go to Maryland to make sure Sasuke would be safe there,” Itachi told her. “Deidara is envious.”

“I am not,” he snapped defensively.

“When Deidara told me I could go to university one day, he was worried I’d choose America because it’s big and he was worried he’d lose me,” Itachi told her with a slightly smile.

He bristled and tried to get up out of the chair. “Stop making fun of me, un!” he snapped. Itachi gave the back of his jacket a tug and slipped his arm around his shoulder. The affectionate gesture was enough to keep him in the chair, but he was still fuming. Why was Itachi using him as a source of amusement all of a sudden?

“That’s cute, Deidara,” Sam told him. “Especially cause you guys can always find one another now.”

“That’s what I told him,” Itachi told her, and she giggled, much to Deidara’s intense annoyance, but Itachi’s hand came up to rub his head affectionally and he melted back into the chair begrudgingly. “I think we should go,” he said to the room at large. “And if you want us to go with you to see your mom, of course, or we can just be around for moral support.”

“Thanks, Itachi,” she said earnestly, then glanced over at Deidara nervously.

“Fine,” he grumbled.

There was a gentle noise behind him on the rail and he wasn’t surprised to hear the voices of the flying cats speak to them, “Child Vampire, we have come to speak with you,” they announced. “May we enter?”

The three of them stood to face the handful of creatures that had alighted onto the railing, staring at them patiently. Deidara shrugged in response and they took leaps like cats jumping to a shelf and fluttered their wings to take them into the room and settle on the sofa facing them. “This stone was stolen from your witches many decades ago,” they began, “but we do not live for so many decades.”

“Memory isn’t as telepathically shared?” Itachi asked with scholarly interest.

“Some is, but the memory grows fainter with each new generation,” they replied. “We recall the story of a witch’s stone that was powerful, but we do not know what has happened to it.”

“Great,” Deidara groaned softly.

“We can, however, offer you direction,” they said, leaning forward slightly. “Speaking to death is a concept we do not understand, but there is always stories in many cultures of the reaper of souls who is often called Death. Perhaps it is needed to speak to the guide of souls.”

“Well that sounds safe,” Deidara said with a rolled of his eyes.

“How would we do that?” Itachi asked.

“We do not know,” they replied, their ears flattening a little. “There is also the dragon you need to meet. That is easier. Dragons are old and magical creatures.”

“So they are real,” Deidara asked with more enthusiasm.

“They are not as the legends make them,” the cats said. “Their magic allows them to choose the forms they are capable of shifting between. Most are limited to two forms.”

“They’re not giant flying lizards?” Sam asked, disappointedly tugging at her shirt.

Itachi gave a slight confused prod between their connections, having noticed the tug as well. _‘There’s cool dragons in the show her shirts from, un,’_ Deidara supplied.

“That is their original form,” the cats assured her. “Because they can choose the shape they can change into their original shape has not evolved as other creatures have. They can live as human or beast. There is a dragon who may help you. All dragons are jealous of their hoards, but every hoard is different.”

“Dragons hoard gold and jewels, right?” Deidara offered, still wondering how a dragon would help them. Though, the connections suddenly came to him and he slapped his hands together causing Itachi and Sam to both jump slightly. “Dragons collect treasure, un! Maybe a dragon has a stone and the present Priscilla saw the dragon give us is the stone.”

“Every dragon collects treasure, but not all treasure is silver and jewels,” the cats said infuriatingly enigmatic. “There is a dragon who is a collector of stories, perhaps that dragon can tell you the story of the stone you seek.”

“Where is the dragon?” Sam asked.

“That is unknown,” they told them, their ears drooping apologetically again. “We are sorry that we cannot be of more help to you.”

“You said we should speak to Death… the grim reaper?” Itachi began, looking as though he was thinking things over. “Everything Priscilla said so far has happened in order, which means we’ll speak to Death before we see the dragon… but how do we find Death?”

“Every human has encountered Death in their life,” the cats told him. “Death is a taboo in human cultures, but death is a part of every human’s life not only when life ends.”

“Not sky lions?” Itachi questioned curiously.

“We are not human,” they responded. “We operate on different belief systems.”

“We appreciate the information you’ve given us,” Sam told them, clasping her hand together. “I… I don’t want to offend you, but… I’d really like to pet you.”

The cats made a slight chirping noise as Deidara laughed a little. One of them slipped off the sofa and walked over to sit down in front of her, folding its wings as Sam knelt down and gently ran her fingers over its head and neck while it made a pleased sound.

_‘I want you to do that to me, un.’_

Itachi’s groan was barely audible as the other cats hopped down to let a delighted looking Sam scratch their heads and necks.

They only stayed in Venice a few more days. Begrudgingly, he stopped complaining that Itachi went out during the day to meet his brother, but it was easier because Sam stayed in bed with him, watching movies with him and told him spooky Maryland stories and legends from a book she found online. When they finally left, they took a late night flight out of Venice’s airport to a stop in France where they spent the night going to restaurants to try as much food as possible to ‘make the trip count’ as Sam put it. Itachi was happy to be able to finally practice his French, and Deidara was happy that Itachi kept their connection as open as possible so they could share each others senses as they did. Deidara found he enjoyed the sweets – especially crème brûlée – the humans shared and wasn’t sure how he felt about the blood sausage. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the actual food taste or because non-human blood tasted very strange to him but Itachi seemed to enjoy it. When morning came, they went to a bakery to buy fresh breads then went to check into a hotel for the day until their next flight.

“Itachi,” Deidara whispered, rolling over to peek over the barrier between their two seats.

His human looked up from his book and raised an eyebrow at him. Deidara cringed a little. “You’re still mad at me, un…”

“Why do we need to fly first class?” Itachi asked in a slightly exasperated tone. “The tickets are ridiculously expensive, and we mostly sleep during the flight.”

“Because they give us fancy stuff, un!” he said, holding up his box of delicate cookies that he was saving to give to them later. “Did you see the picture of the food? They make it specially for you, un.”

“I would have been okay with normal airplane food,” Itachi told him, looking down at his book again.

Deidara pouted at him, wishing Itachi understood that he enjoyed spoiling him. He had so little when he found him in Japan, barely surviving and miserable, nearly succumbing to depression from the loss of his family and struggling through his teenage years. He slid his hand across the barrier between them and gave his shoulder a poke. Itachi raised his eyebrow again, but didn’t look up from his book. “Are you going to leave us?” he asked in a quiet voice.

“What are you talking about?” Itachi asked.

Deidara chewed on his lip a little then decided to go for it. “Are you going to want to stay in the United States with Sasuke, un?” he asked.

“I haven’t really thought it over yet,” Itachi replied. He wasn’t looking at his book anymore, but he wasn’t looking at him either. Deidara found himself becoming hyper focused on the way the muscles on his mouth was moving, his eyelashes shifting as his eyes moved. “Stop staring at me,” Itachi said, the blood rushing across his face to turn his cheeks pink.

“I like staring at you, un,” Deidara told him with a little smirk, though he pulled his focus away. Itachi really didn’t appreciate his own features, but he knew he hadn’t been staring at him for his looks. He was trying to look for things that might indicate that Itachi was keeping things to himself. Deidara hated all the worrying he had to do now.

Itachi was silent for a few minutes, still staring at his book but his eyes weren’t moving. Finally, he heaved a sigh and leaned back in his reclined chair, rubbing his faces with his hands. “I do want to go to university,” Itachi finally began, but held his hand up before Deidara’s panic could manifest, “but I wouldn’t want to go to school anywhere too far away from you.” He glanced sideways at him and seemed annoyed and embarrassed about how happy Deidara was about his statement. “I’ve been thinking about perspective.”

“What… sort of perspective?” he asked, wondering how Itachi had time to think about so many different things.

“Perspective of time between mortal humans and semi-immortal vampires,” Itachi explained, then seemed to reconsider, “and their semi-immortal humans.”

“Oh,” he frowned again.

“Sasori said he changed you three hundred and forty-two years ago,” Itachi began. “The average normal human life span is eighty years. University in America is four years for one degree, two years additionally if I’d like to go to grad school and I complete it at the average rate.” Deidara decided not to comment that he was pretty sure if allowed, Itachi could do it in half the time, because he was not much of a fan of math when it didn’t involve chemicals that exploded. “To a normal human, six years of being away is a rather long time, but – perspectively – to you, it’s very little time at all.”

“I would consider it a very long time to not see you, un.”

His human gave him another look. Where did Itachi get all these looks? “I said I wouldn’t want to go anywhere without you,” he reminded him. “But… what’s six years to a vampire?”

“Around… two thousand one hundred and ninety days, un.”

“Oh, very good,” Itachi said with a small laugh.

Deidara grinned and sat up straighter in his chair. “Hey, I can be smart, too,” he reminded him.

“I know, I’ve seen you make chemical formulas for fireworks,” Itachi told him with a smile. “But I mean… what if we temporarily stayed in America? We could – I could – go to school, get at least… one degree.”

He laughed, “at least.”

“And I can spend time with both you and Sasuke,” Itachi continued. “We can make sure that he’s safe and at the same time, I can observe the all the supernatural creatures in that area.”

“For your book?”

“I’m not writing a book,” Itachi spluttered, his arms folding defensively.

“Right. For your extensive secret computer archive of information on paranormal humans and creatures, un,” Deidara corrected, giggling at his embarrassed reaction.

“I’ve actually been considering anthropology as field of study,” Itachi admitted. “But there’s also… psychology … history… philosophy… I…”

“You could just do everything,” Deidara offered with a smirk.

“I don’t think I’d want to be that presumptuous,” Itachi muttered. “And, if we were there for a few months at least, you’d be able to see some of those firework displays that you wanted to see.”

“Ohh!” he exclaimed, sitting up onto his knees and tapping his hands on the plastic covered space between their reclining seats excitedly. “Yes! We’ll need to make plans for that.”

“And…” Itachi began looking like he didn’t want to say the next part.

Deidara waited. “And?”

“I’m only telling you this because you’ll be very unhappy if you find out afterwards,” Itachi informed him, then heaved a sighed and reclined his seat back into a bed and pulled his blanket up to his shoulder while turning onto his side giving him his back. “…June 9th is my birthday.”

“What?!” Deidara cried, jumping up out of his seat and starting to climb over to his side.

One of the flight attendants stepped forward and said something in firm French. “She said to please return to your seat,” Itachi muttered in the German they had been speaking, pulling his eye mask on. “I am not discussing it and I do not want a party.”

Deidara dropped back into his seat and gave the flight attendant a sheepish look and she began showing him how to put on a movie as if he was a child. When she finally left him, he turned to tell Sam when Itachi’s birth date, but saw she was sound asleep in the aisle across from him. Damn it.

_‘You can’t speak French?’_

_‘No… never learned, un,’_ Deidara answered. _‘Bad experience… Chinese too… no can do, un…’_

Itachi seemed surprised by this information, but not enough to get him to turn around again. His human was never really one to pry about anyone’s past until they were ready to explain. Unfortunately, he couldn’t really explain it easily. French – well… Sasori had a Made who was French and absolutely nasty, and then Belle kept pressuring him to learn and he didn’t like that either. Chinese… that was the one he didn’t remember or understand.

_‘…Can we at lea—’_

_‘No. I don’t like celebrating my birthday. Don’t plan anything. I’m going to sleep now. Enjoy your movie.’_

That was definitely not going to happen, he was definitely going to plan some sort of celebration for his human. For now, he laid back and watched the animated movie the flight attendant put on for him, pretending to be asleep later when Sam and Itachi woke up and the flight attendants brought them their fancy dinner and desserts.

When they landed in the airport in BWI, Deidara told the customs agent that he was visiting to see the fireworks, which the agent didn’t seem to like because it wasn’t even June yet, but eventually he was allowed to go through and found Sam and Itachi waiting for their luggage on the lower level of the airport.

“What took you so long?” Sam asked in concern, but it was with a little grin.

“He made the custom agent suspicious,” Itachi explained with a smile, patting the top of Deidara’s head gently. “Do we have time to get to the city or should we get a hotel room at the hotel here?”

“I think we have time,” Sam said, looking at her phone as Deidara went to help Itachi get their suitcases as the track began to move. “Hello, Google maps,” she said then began spinning slowly on the spot, then back again making humming noises as she did.

“What’s funny?” Deidara asked Itachi, picking up both of Sam’s suitcases. He suddenly noticed a young girl staring at him and the suitcases and dropped them lightly on the ground. Oops.

“This is the first time you’ve helped me with the luggage,” Itachi told him, grabbing his boring black suitcase and set it down next to Sam’s. “Sam, what are you doing?”

“Trying to get my phone to tell me which way I’m facing,” she said, holding her phone out at eye level. “Oh, here we go. The Amtrak train is this way, but the light rail is this way.”

“What’s a light rail?” Itachi asked with a frown. “Can we speak English now that we’re in America? I would like to practice…”

“It’s like… uh, a subway train, but it… actually, I’m not sure what distinguishes it from a normal train,” Sam admitted.

“It’s narrower so its track can be laid down on roads with cars, un,” Deidara stated, smirking a little at their impressed expressions. “Hey, I like trains too. Sasori and I got to ride on one of the first night riding steam powered trains together. It was really cool, not as cool as being in an open airplane. I got to teach Sasori about aerodynamics,” he giggled. “He never studied it, so he didn’t think it would get off the ground, un. One day, I want to go to space. Also in a submarine but I haven’t had a chance yet. I think I’d be good in a sub, I mean even if there was a breech, so long as the engine room was okay, I’d be fine, un.”

“Which would be faster?”

“Amtrak,” Sam answered, grinning at Deidara. “Got any fun facts about them?” When he shook his head, she gave an ‘oh well’ gesture. “Actually, google says the light rail would be better cause it goes straight by where the place we’re staying is… Okay! Let’s go this way.”

“I’ve never helped you with luggage before?” Deidara asked with a frown as they followed after Sam.

“Not once,” Itachi replied, stepping up to the machine to purchase tickets. Deidara took his, stuffing it into his pocket and picked up Itachi’s suitcase as well as his own and stomped after Sam again. “You don’t have to do it now,” Itachi called after him, but Deidara stuck his nose up in the air and turned his face away from his human defiantly. “Do you know exactly where your mother lives?”

Deidara glanced at Sam who was shifting on her feet. “Yeah, but I don’t want to go tonight… it’s late, you know… Jet lag,” she told them as the white boxy train slowly pulled into the station. They waited while a few people stepped down the steep stairs to the platform floor before climbing inside. Deidara watched Sam for a little while, wondering if she was lying about being tired or simply putting off going to find her mom, then looked at Itachi who was staring around the rail car at all the advertisements then out the window at the brief glimpses of unknown places as the train began to diligently move north.

“We can’t go see her tonight anyway,” Sam suddenly spoke up after several minutes of silence. “Deidara has to meet with the Master of the City.”

Deidara audibly groaned. “I don’t have to do it tonight, un…”

“I thought vampires are supposed to send envoys to meet strong vampires,” Itachi said with a frown.

“In Japan, they do,” Sam said. “Also in some European cities, but you think _American_ vampires are going to grovel to you, Dei? Just cause you’re a Child Vampire?”

“Well, _I’m_ not groveling,” he grumbled, folding his arms tightly.

“I didn’t say you had to,” she said with a grin at Itachi. “Look, Americans love being flattered and they’d be flattered you’d come to them.”

“And you should get permission to hunt,” Itachi told him, giving him a firm look.

“I’m not hungry,” Deidara said quickly, curling his feet up onto the seat.

_‘Don’t lie to me…’_ came Itachi’s voice floating down from their connection. Deidara smiled happily and leaned against Itachi’s shoulder. He loved hearing Itachi’s voice in his head, Sasori’s was always aggressive and he had to keep his defensives up the whole time or Sasori might be able to get in. Itachi’s was just there and the warmth of his soul wrapped around his brain which ran a million miles an hour slow down a bit.

“I wonder what type of paranormal creatures would live in Baltimore…” Sam mused aloud, looking out the window. “Like… I’m sure vampires, cause it’s a port city, right? But what about fae? Werewolves?”

“I doubt there’d be werewolves in Baltimore.”

All three of them turned their heads to an older man sitting on a chair a few rows down. A quick sniff told Deidara that this was a normal human, but the man seemed to ease into the conversation as if they’d all been talking together for ages. “Um, you think so, sir?” Sam asked, sounding a little confused after a glance at Deidara.

“Oh, please miss, you can call me Greg,” the man said, waving a wrinkled dark hand then rest it back down on the wooden cane in front of him. “And yeah, well… Baltimore,” he said thoughtfully, though he said the city’s name oddly.

“‘Bawlmar…’,” Deidara murmured under his breath and felt Itachi glance at him. With all his language study, he probably noticed the accent too.

“Yeah, that’s right,” the man said with a deep chuckle. “You see, if I was a werewolf, I’d want some room to run, you know? We got some places to run, but not too secluded, you know. Maybe Virginia,” he mused to himself.

“Virginia is for werewolves?” Sam mused, crossing her legs and seemed to become invested in a conversation with this stranger.

The man threw his head back and laughed a belly laugh. “Oh,” he cried, slapping his hand down on his knee. “That’s funny. You know, Virginia license plates on their cars have the phrase ‘Virginia is for lovers’? Ha… Virginia is for werewolves, that’d be a better slogan.”

Sam gave a chuckle with him, and a young woman sitting a bit further down leaned her arm over the back of her seat. “If we did have werewolves, they’d be in the county, like way out there in Baltimore county,” she reasoned, pronouncing the city name with that accent again, twisting her earbuds over her ears. “Westminster and the like… But we have our own monsters you know… The goatman, Black Aggie.”

“Oh, true, true… I remember the Goatman,” Greg said to the girl as if she brought up a good point. He then turned and made a gesture towards the three of them as if imparting an important point. “See Baltimore is what we call a little-big-city… we got history, lot of characters – famous people came from Baltimore, you know. Lots of history.”

“He loves history, un,” Deidara said, gesturing to Itachi.

“Oh, you’ll see a lot of history here,” the man said, leaning back against his seat. “And if you want, y’all can take the train down to DC too.”

“I’d like that,” Itachi said with a glance at Deidara. The conversation drifted as Greg and the girl asked where they were from, but it was Sam who answered and participated in the conversation because Deidara got distracted by a sudden wave of displeasure from Itachi.

_‘What?’_ alarmed that he had done something.

Itachi shifted uncomfortably then looked out the window. _‘He knew we were foreign cause of me,’_ he finally admitted. _‘Because of my accent.’_ He finally glanced back at Deidara and the vampire had to repress the urge to laugh because he suddenly realized Itachi was pouting a little.

_‘Its just cause you learned English from a European, un,’_ Deidara reminded him with a grin.

_‘I don’t want to have an accent. You don’t have any accent when you speak English.’_

Deidara considered this with a slight frown. He wasn’t sure how he couldn’t have an accent, but he supposed he had been using English off and on for so many different periods of times, he somehow managed to speak without a specific accent. _‘Do I have an accent when I speak Japanese?’_ he asked his human.

_‘Yes. Well… yes and no,’_ Itachi corrected himself. _‘You don’t speak Japanese like normal people…’_

_‘What does that mean?’_ Deidara asked with a frown.

Some amusement seemed to rise a little on Itachi’s end. _‘Both you and Sasori speak Japanese like elderly people,’_ he told him. _‘I always assumed it was because you learned Japanese a long time ago.’_

“Huh?!” he cried in astonishment, ignoring the way Sam and her new friends turned to stare at him.  
“I’m sorry,” Itachi said, switching to German for some reason. “I think after a while I got used to it, or thought you were doing it on purpose.”

“What?” Sam asked.

“Deidara speaks Japanese like an old man, but I didn’t have the heart to tell him,” Itachi told her with an apologetic smile at his vampire who was fuming a bit.

“What’s that you’re speaking?” Greg asked curiously.

“German,” the girl who hadn’t introduced herself said. “Speakin’ two languages is pretty sweet.”

Sam gave her a lopsided grin and nodded at the two of them sitting together. “Them two speak a handful together, but I’m just stuck with English and German,” she told her. Deidara grinned a little, liking, as Itachi did, how Sam’s voice slipped into her southern American accent the more she spoke.

“Wish I could learn a language,” the girl mused, propping her chin up in her palm. “I can speak a little Spanish—well, restaurant Spanish,” she corrected herself.

“What is restaurant Spanish?” Itachi asked.

“Meaning I work in a restaurant and there’s a lot of Hispanic—” Deidara felt itachi’s confusion at the new word and equipped him with the shortest explanation of anyone from south of the United States borders. “—people working there, so I gotta communicate with people I work with, you know? My Spanish knowledge is: I can get by probably,” she explained, gesturing at an invisible sign.

“Oh, this is our stop,” Sam exclaimed as the mechanical man’s voice stated that the next stop was Centre Street. “Thanks for the chat, y’all have a good night.”

“Hope you enjoy your stay,” the girl called to them as they began lugging their suitcases down the steep stairs.

“Thanks for the restaurant suggestions,” Sam said with a wave of her hand.

They stepped down onto what looked like a small makeshift platform and Deidara looked back into the windows of the car they had just stepped down. The girl had her headphones in her ears again and the man was reading from a newspaper as if they hadn’t just had a thirty minute conversation with a group of strangers. He tilted his head to the side, then laughed a little.

“I always thought Jack was a chatterbox,” he commented. “He’ll strike up a conversation with anyone that sits still long enough. Maybe it’s just a Baltimore thing, un.”

“Americans use their hands a lot to talk,” Itachi noted as they began walking down a street. Deidara paused to look curiously at a mural on a building.

“Americans aren’t as rude as we seem to be portrayed,” Sam said in joking defense. “Media only ever shows the bad ones, you know. We’re actually quite friendly. And talking with our hands shows how enthusiastic we are.”

“I don’t think those people knew one another,” Itachi said, glancing back to watch the light rail continue along its track.

“I don’t think so either,” Deidara said, catching up and lightly kicking loose stones down the sidewalk.

Sam directed them across another street. “Jack told me that in Baltimore, you’re probably only two or three people away from knowing a complete stranger, and even though Baltimore is kind of known for its crime, people are usually really friendly to strangers. I wish Jack could have come with us,” she added with a sigh. “I bet he could tell us a lot of great places to visit… though he hasn’t been in a while…I should have called him.”

Deidara felt Itachi’s eyes on him and he turned his face away, feeling his shoulders hunch defensively. He hadn’t asked called Jack like Itachi suggested. He had thought about it, but found he was too scared to be rejected by him to risk it. Itachi’s fingers rested lightly on his shoulder, probably sensing what was wrong through their connection. It was comforting and made him feel a little better. As they walked, he noticed something following a block or so away, the scent of strange vampire in the air. Whoever it was, was definitely following them, but he supposed they were supposed to follow strangers. He didn’t it though he said nothing to his humans, but he sighed a little, realizing that Sam had been right – American vampires were impatient. His mood shifted again when he discovered that Sam had told them that he was a child again and he grumbled the entire elevator ride up to their apartment.

“I’m more than ten times older than you, un!” he cried, breathing down her neck a little.

“Are you though?” she said, raising an amused eyebrow at him.

“I’m sixteen at least!” he reminded her. “That’s not a child!”

“I know,” she agreed, setting her suitcase down to insert the key into the lock. “Too young to drive a car at home.”

He frowned, having no rebuttal for that. He had often debated cutting his hair to make himself look older throughout the years, but he got away with so much by looking like a young teenager he supposed that was the trade off. “Good move thinking of an apartment, Itachi,” he commented as he dropped his suitcase and threw himself down onto the stuffed sofa.

“Deidara,” Itachi scolded, picking up the dropped suitcase. “You need to go talk to the Master of the City. Don’t get comfortable.”

“You’re such a party-pooper, un,” Deidara complained, making a lot of unhappy noises as he rolled off the sofa. He stopped and turned to face them with a look. “Don’t—”

“Don’t go outside at night, don’t let anyone inside the apartment,” Itachi interrupted with a small smile. “We know, Deidara. Please let me know if you won’t be back before the sun comes up.”

“Okay,” he said in a mockingly exasperated tone. “Yes, mom.” He started to go to the door, but stopped and turned back to Itachi who smiled and leaned down so Deidara could rub his cheek against Itachi’s. “Don’t go outside… there are things other than vampires here, un.”

“I won’t go outside at night,” Itachi promised, taking his suitcase as well as Deidara’s down the hallway to the room opposite the one Sam had walked into. As he was leaving, he heard Sam offer to help Itachi block up the windows in his bedroom before she took a shower and went to bed. He wished he could stay with Itachi because his human was always so cute when he was sleeping, but knew that they’d be in more trouble if he didn’t go introduce himself to the Master. Moping a little, he slipped down the stairs instead of the elevator so he could have a conversation with their stalker.


	14. A Tour of Baltimore

The blankets were warm and heavy around him when he drifted out of sleep and into awareness, heaving a sigh that expanded his lungs out of the steady rhythm his sleep had set them in. It was just enough awareness he needed to stretch his back from sleeping so soundly before sinking back into the warmth again. The bed was immensely comfortable. He should go back to sleep. It was too early to be awake, he knew. Despite his attempts the night before to block out the window, the sun was still streaming in around his efforts, but he knew it wasn’t up very high in the sky. One of the first gifts sharing his soul with Deidara had been was knowing where the sun was in the sky even if he couldn’t see it. It was just too early, but now that he was aware of the sun’s groping fingers into the room, it was impossible to ignore. The windows in the hotels in Croatia and Venice were small enough to easily block up, but these American windows were very tall and seemed to want to give as much light as possible. At home, his bedroom had special curtains built so that if they were drawn it was dark no matter what time of day it was.

Rolling over with a pleasing stretch of his back again, he slid his hands across the bed blindly and was disappointed to continue on until he found the edge of the bed. Before he could even shift his thoughts, he felt Deidara reach through their minds to him.

 _‘You were already asleep when I tried to let you know I wouldn’t be back, un,’_ his vampire’s voice explained, heavy with the weight of the sun. _‘The Master invited me to go hunting with him. He gave me a bedroom in his guest house.’_

 _‘Did it go alright?’_ Itachi asked, opening his eyes to stare at the ceiling, still tired from the jet lag and finding himself annoyed at the sun.

His vampire wasn’t there, but he could feel his mental shrug. _‘Yeah… I guess. I’m still kinda hungry, though and wish I came back.’_

_‘I meant with the Master.’_

_‘Oh, yeah, that was fine. He just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t going to try taking over his terf and also told me the vampires have rules in Baltimore… Apparently they own a lot of strip clubs and stuff here and in D.C., which is how lots of them make money and get to eat too. That’s really smart, un… Oh, and also he said you’re welcome to feed off people outside of those places, so long as either, they consent or you can feed off of a ‘scumbag you catch hurting someone’.’_ Deidara’s sudden giggle echoed across their connection. _‘He said,’_ he chuckled out, _‘he said, ‘we’re batmen, get it?’, un!’_

The blond’s giggles continued to echo between them, but Itachi unfortunately didn’t get it. _‘Sorry…’_

Thankfully, Deidara was too amused to be mortified. _‘Batman is a comic book character who fights crime and, you know… people think vampires turn into bats.’_

Itachi smiled a little. Puns and jokes were definitely the way into Deidara’s good books. He wondered if the Master had done any research on the blond or if he simply had good sense of humor.

_‘You should go back to sleep, un… it’s only 10am…’_

_‘I will,’_ Itachi replied, pulling the blankets back up over his shoulders. _‘I’m glad you’re in a dark place… I’d feel guilty if you were here… I’ll have to figure out how to black out these windows better before you get back… You’ll come back tonight?’ ___

___‘Promise…’_ came Deidara’s soft voice as he felt himself drifting back into the comfort of sleep._ _

__When Itachi opened his eyes again, it was four in the afternoon by his phone and he was absolutely starving. He didn’t enjoy sleeping so late, especially when he was not at home, but he supposed so much sleeping might make the jet lag from traveling across the Atlantic a little easier to manage. At the castle, it was easier to spend the day in bed to be active in the later period of the day and night, but not everywhere made it easy to function on vampire time. As he pulled on a t-shirt, he heard Sam laughing somewhere down the hall and stepped out of his room, wondering if someone was with them. He found her sitting at the cute little breakfast nook with plastic take out bags and her laptop in front of her, munching on fruit while she chatted with her screen._ _

__He relaxed at the sound of the voice from her speakers and stepped behind her to lean in. “Hello, Jack,” he greeted._ _

__“Hey Itachi!” Jack’s face grinned wider when he noticed him, waving his hand. “How are you? Liking Baltimore yet?”_ _

__“I haven’t seen much of it yet,” he said apologetically. “We only arrived last night.”_ _

__“I got you breakfast,” Sam explained, dragging one of the chairs over so they could sit next to one another. “Jack recommended the place. I got you blueberry pancakes, eggs, grits, oatmeal with berries, and fried green tomatoes. And coffee, of course,” she added, pulling the items out of the bag._ _

__“What are grits?” he asked, taking the coffee from her first._ _

__“Delicious,” Jack said with a grin._ _

__Sam snorted. “It’s like porridge,” she said. “You can put maple syrup on it if you need it sweetened.”_ _

__He tried everything and found them very flavorful, though a little heavier than he usually liked. “I was thinking about texting you, Jack,” Itachi said after a few sips of coffee. “I was going to ask if you had recommendations of places to visit here in Baltimore.”_ _

__“Do I ever,” Jack replied with a laugh. “Man, I’m kinda jealous. I wish I was with you guys.”_ _

__“Me too,” Sam said with a sad smile._ _

__“I tried to convince Deidara to invite you, and he wanted to, but I think he was too worried you’d say no,” Itachi told them as he cut up his fried green tomatoes to try. Now these were excellent. He had another bite. “He’s been a bit antsy since…” he trailed off, uncertain how to explain when exactly Deidara began to become paranoid. He hadn’t really thought Deidara liked the idea of Jack going to school in France in the first place, but it hadn’t really sunk in until Jack was already gone. Perspective of time was very different to vampires. A few years was nothing until they had begun to pass._ _

__“Yeah,” Jack said with a sigh. “I’m in the middle of a research project anyway. Can’t do it remotely either… I’ve been spending time in a dark room going through microfiche and old film reels.”_ _

__“Pleased as a peach in a pie,” Sam commented letting her voice slip back into her accent. Itachi paused in mid chew, not quite sure what to make of that one. They continued to talk for another hour or so, Jack enthusiastically gave Itachi so many suggestions of places to visit, he had to grab a pen to write them down on the back of the receipt that had been attached to the delivery bag. It almost seemed as if Jack had been preparing a list for them for weeks. He had lists of restaurants – including Mrs. Shirley’s, where they had gotten breakfast from, museums in Baltimore and the best way to get to Washington D.C. to visit the Smithsonian museums, the national aquarium – but insisted that they had to take Deidara otherwise he would be pissed, as well as shops, stores, and neighborhoods._ _

__The downside to summer was that the sun was in the sky a lot longer than it was in the winter which meant Deidara had to stay in his Suntime death longer. Sitting in the apartment was making him feel restless and he decided he needed to go for a walk. Sam wanted to stay inside the apartment, stating that she was still tired, but also had some work to do. It was very warm outside. He was so used to the coolness of northern Germany, the humidity of the June sun bore down onto his head, but it reminded him of Japanese summers. He took the free shuttle bus that Jack had recommended to the Inner Harbor to begin his exploration. He paused at the light, waiting to cross the street and wasn’t surprised by the sudden onslaught of Deidara’s irritation that he had left the apartment alone. Instead of ignoring him, he opened the doors of his mind space to allow his senses to slip into their connection so he could feel the sun on his face, the smells of the new city, and the sight of the people walking by, the flags flapping in the wind and the banners hanging from poles that lined the street running east to west displaying orange clad baseball players. The city seemed strange to him, though he had never been to America before, he found it odd that everything was very big and somewhat spread out, but everything was still somewhat in walking distance. He eavesdropped on people’s conversations to observe the accents people used here, wondering if he could mimic it so he didn’t sound like a foreigner. Deidara felt amused by this again and withdrew again with a quiet familiar warning of being careful._ _

__He looked down at his phone, going over the directions Jack had given him. He had told Itachi and Sam that the best way to navigate Baltimore City was to use the harbor as the center point and that the larger main streets went either east to west or north to south, even if the streets didn’t run exactly in those directions, which didn’t really make much sense to him. He frowned at the buses Jack had listed as well, then glanced up and looked around again. He should have asked Jack about bus etiquette here, where to stand and how to board. Maybe he should wait for Sam before attempting to navigate American’s transportation system._ _

__“ _Sumimasen_ …”_ _

__He turned around at the familiar Japanese to see a young woman standing behind him with her ear buds in her hands. Though her eyes were hidden behind her sunglasses, he could tell she wasn’t Japanese. She was taller than Deidara, but not by much, dressed in casual, though slightly professional airy black clothes with her dark hair braided off her face into a thicker braid down her back. She gave him an odd smile, shifting her weight so she was standing on one foot while the other tapped its toe on the ground behind her. “Yes?” he replied in Japanese as well, trying to hide his surprise._ _

__“Are you lost?” she asked, her eyebrow raising a little behind her sunglasses, “need some help?”_ _

__“I… I was trying to decide where to go,” he explained. “A friend of mine is from Baltimore and recommended I tried a restaurant, but I’ve never used public transportation except for the free shuttle bus. How did you know I spoke Japanese?” he asked. It seemed a little rude to ask, but something didn’t feel quite right about this girl. He didn’t like that he couldn’t see her eyes through her sunglasses and her smile seemed a little odd. There were no red flags, but they were as orange as the baseball player banners._ _

__“You were muttering under your breath about bus numbers,” she said, her smile becoming a little more genuine, but she still didn’t smile fully. Deidara did that sometimes when he didn’t want people to see his fangs. It made him feel a little more nervous. “I studied Japanese, so I thought I’d ask. Where were you thinking of going?”_ _

__He showed her the restaurant on his phone and she gave another nod. “A good recommendation,” she stated. “It’s very easy to get to.”_ _

__“Is the bus really free?” Itachi asked._ _

__“Yes,” was the reply as she shifted her weight to the other foot, tapping the other behind her again. “If they have numbers, no, you need to buy a pass, but if it’s a color, or the Banner bus, which is the one you should take it’s also free. This is the bus you need,” she added, nodding her head._ _

__Itachi turned and watched the bus approach through traffic and turned to smile at her. “Thank you,” he said._ _

__“Thank you for letting me practice my Japanese,” she said with that strange smile and stuck her headphones back into her ears._ _

__He returned the smile and stepped onto the bus when the doors opened, stepping into the air condition vehicle and hurried to find the seat. In his mind, he recited the interaction to Deidara in case he hadn’t been paying attention. The blond wanted confirmation that she was human, suspicious of any stranger he interacted with. He assured the blond that she had been friendly and only gave him direction. Deidara was too paranoid; and, looking back, the girl seemed intent on her music._ _

__When he found the restaurant, he stepped inside nervously and spoke to the servers. He told them that his Baltimore born friend recommended the famous seafood, though he wasn’t sure how to eat them. They were just as friendly as everyone he had spoken to so far, enthusiastically giving him suggestions and warning of what not to drink with the food – nothing too harsh like sprite or ginger ale, but not too sweet cause it wouldn’t mix well and probably not water. He asked for a local beer instead and took their suggestions, sitting down a table while Deidara pined in his head, sad about being alone, but it was still an hour or so before he could join him. Even though their connection made the day time more tolerable to him, the vampire still could not walk in the sun until it was nearly completely set. He wondered how long it would take before Deidara could walk in the sun like his Maker could; though the newly discovered revelation that Sasori was witchborn made him question if any vampire could walk in the sun like Sasori could._ _

__When his food arrived – a tray of raw oysters on ice and a pile of bright red crabs coated in sand like seasoning – the waitress talked him through the tedious process of cracking open the crab’s shell and eating the plump white meat. It was very delicious, and he dutifully picked through every corner. By the time he finished his last claw and slurped down his final oysters – he ordered more after he found he liked them so much – the sun was set enough for Deidara to leave the place he was staying, so Itachi waited patiently, nursing his beer so it didn’t look like he was a loitering._ _

__“Was it good?” Deidara asked when he finally stepped into the restaurant and slid in the seat across from him._ _

__Itachi looked down at his watch. “Ten minutes,” he commented, holding back a grin. “Did you get distracted on the way?” Deidara rolled his eyes and picked up an empty claw to play with, making it pinch things on the table. His vampire was trying to pretend that Itachi going out on his own wasn’t something that brought him so much stress. “It was very good,” Itachi answered. “So was the beer. It was a little messy to eat, but delicious. Jack recommended this place.”_ _

__“Oh,” Deidara said quietly, looking down at the table. “You guys talked to Jack?”_ _

__“Yes, he said he was in the middle of a research project,” Itachi said in a gentle tone, hoping to quell the guilt lingering across the table._ _

__“Multilingual, how interesting.”_ _

__The two of them jumped slightly, heads whipping to find the voice so fast, Itachi thought his neck might have snapped. The young woman who had given him directions was standing at the head of his table looking down at them. The hairs on the back of Itachi’s neck stood on end, but the flags were still orange not quite red, but Deidara was on edge. He hadn’t heard her approach and Itachi quickly stuck his foot out to nudge Deidara before the vampire could leap to his feet and cause a scene in front of normal humans._ _

__“Yes,” Itachi replied, trying to keep his voice as casual as possible, switching from German to English. “I was born in Japan, but I live in Germany right now.”_ _

__“With a vampire,” she said, raising an eyebrow._ _

__Itachi cringed slightly as Deidara’s defenses roared up – though he thankfully did not get up yet, but she didn’t react at all. He looked from Deidara back to the woman, trying to give her a confused expression. “Excuse me?” he asked, pleased his voice sounded casual, though it was negated by Deidara’s reaction._ _

__That smile appeared on her face that made him so nervous. “This is my city and I like knowing what is traveling through it,” she told him. “You are a Shadow Hunter. I thought you smelled like a vampire because you had killed one, but you sit here sharing a meal as friends do.”_ _

__Deidara gave an audible growl of warning and Itachi pressed his thoughts against his vampire’s mind. _‘Calm down… It’s okay.’_ Aloud, he said, “I am not a Shadow Hunter.”_ _

__“You are.”_ _

__“No, I’m not,” Itachi repeated. “My parents were Shadow Hunters, but I am not.”_ _

__There was a pause as she seemed to consider him more closely. “That sounds like an interesting story.”_ _

__Itachi said nothing, not wanting to boil his history down into something as simple as a story to tell a stranger. Deidara still growled quietly at her._ _

__“What are you?” she finally said after seeming to look from Deidara to Itachi for several short minutes. “You smell like a Shadow Hunter, but your aura is different and you are sitting here with a vampire.”_ _

__“Mine,” Deidara stood slowly, letting his own strength seep into the air around him. The woman stood up straighter, not in fear but curious caution. She regarded him more seriously, sensing his strength that hid behind the teenage appearance. Itachi remained seated, trying to calm Deidara down so he didn’t tear up the restaurant. _‘Something isn’t right with her, un,’_ the blond finally replied._ _

__“What is yours?” she asked._ _

__“Him,” Deidara growled at her. “He is mine. Not a Shadow Hunter.”_ _

__“I would like to hear this story,” she said._ _

__“No.”_ _

__“This is my city.”_ _

__“According to who?” Deidara demanded._ _

__She turned his eyes on him and though Itachi couldn’t see her eyes, he could feel the power directed at Deidara, matching the power display he was showing. Deidara was too stubborn to back down, a Master vampire who answered to no one, but Itachi had felt that same power behind the eyes of an Alpha of werewolf packs. Jasper would use that to control his pack when they became aggressive. The air seemed to quiver around them like two cats about to fight, but Itachi stood up and firmly shoved Deidara with their mental connection to catch him off balance._ _

__“Deidara, let me use your credit card, please,” Itachi said casually. Deidara gave him an odd look, but it gave the blond an excuse to look at him and break the eye contact with him. With a non-committal grunt, Deidara reached into his pocket to dig his wallet out for him. The waitress and cook both looked nervously at them as he approached and handed them one of the plastic cards. “Thank you for the meal, it was very delicious,” he said, not reacting to Deidara’s silent reminder to give a tip. He signed Deidara’s name at the bottom, doing the math quickly in his head to add to the total. “Thank you,” he added again, smiling at the women before going to pick up his bag and walked out of the restaurant, knowing Deidara would scramble after him._ _

___‘What is she?’_ Itachi asked quietly, glancing behind them at the woman following them out._ _

___‘I don’t know, un,’_ the vampire growled in their minds. _‘Why is she following us?”__ _

____‘Because we didn’t answer her properly,’_ Itachi replied, stopping at a cross walk and turned to face her. “I am no one important. I’m this vampire’s companion, he has already reported to the Master of the City.”_ _ _

___“What are you?” Deidara demanded, placing himself between Itachi and the strangers._ _ _

___She turned her intense gaze onto Deidara and Itachi felt his defenses flare up again as he prepared for a possible fight, but she didn’t attack him. She seemed to be sizing him up, trying to glean information without asking a question, much like Sasori sometimes did. She shifted onto one foot and tapped her other toe against the ground behind her. “My city,” she finally stated. “You are the guest…” Her gaze turned again to Itachi and though her sunglasses were too thick for him to see her eyes, he could imagine her narrowing her eyes at him. “I do not believe that you are unimportant.”_ _ _

___Itachi gave her a small smile, giving a nod of his head. “That is kind of you, but I was referring to my story. It’s not important,” he told her, displaying his hands to demonstrate their emptiness. “We’re here because our friend is from this city and I’ve been considering going to university here. We don’t intend to disturb your city.”_ _ _

___“What are you?” Deidara demanded again, growing irritated at being ignored._ _ _

___She smirked at him, tilting her nose up in the air slightly. “A librarian,” she stated. “My city. I will be watching you.”_ _ _

___They watched her walk away, Deidara breathing heavily after her until she turned down another street and out of sight. Itachi was startled when Deidara gave a slight snort and turned to face him, swaying slightly. “I am a librarian,” he proclaimed with a fake accent as if quoting something. Itachi assumed it was a movie and wasn’t surprised when Deidara looked annoyed that he hadn’t laughed._ _ _

___“Jack gave me a list of places we should visit,” Itachi said instead of pretending to laugh at something._ _ _

___“No, no, no,” Deidara said, moving to stand in front of him, waving his hands. “We can’t just pretend that didn’t just happen, un.”_ _ _

___“You said there was a great variety of supernatural creatures that lived in America,” Itachi said simply. “She was nice to me when she gave me directions.”_ _ _

___“So it was me?” the blond grumbled accusingly._ _ _

___“You are the scary vampire,” Itachi said with a smile. “Jack says we should go to the Aquarium,” he said, reaching out to take Deidara’s elbow so they could begin walking north towards the inner harbor. “That we definitely shouldn’t go without you, so I think we need to arrange that so the sun’s down… or wait a few months, I’m not sure how late its open.”_ _ _

___Deidara gave a grunt, still rankled by the woman, but pleased that they were making sure to include him. “I don’t like summer,” he muttered, waiting with him for the bus._ _ _

___“Also, I was looking at the museums in Washington D.C.,” Itachi continued, “I think you would like the Air and Space Museum… but I’m worried we might have to wait until winter for that, too… it’s only open till around five. I’m disappointed because there’s an exhibit I thought you might like.”_ _ _

___Deidara’s eyes returned to look at him from where he’d been staring in the direction of the unknown creature again. “What exhibit?”_ _ _

___“There’s an exhibit for Luftwaffe there,” Itachi explained, stepping onto the bus and walking to the back to find a seat._ _ _

___The blond’s face lit up excitedly. “I flew with the Luftwaffe,” he said, a little redundantly as that was precisely why Itachi wanted to take him. “Well, also with the British, I didn’t like taking sides – I just wanted to fly. I got to meet the Red Baron and I really wanted to fly with the Night Witches, but I wasn’t allowed… since I’m not a woman.”_ _ _

___“Were the Night Witches a coven?” Itachi asked, smiling a little. Deidara never enjoyed talking about history unless Itachi managed to find the right button. Sasori enjoyed talking about history a little too much for comfort, especially the horrors of war._ _ _

___“Nah,” Deidara grinned, putting his feet up on the armrest of the empty seat in front of him. “They were a female only military aviators from the Soviet Union in World War 2. Total badasses.”_ _ _

___“How so?” Itachi asked, wondering if reaching for his phone to take notes would stop Deidara from talking._ _ _

___“Well they were bombers right? But cause they were girls they were given really shitty planes and they would shut their engines off in mid air so they could silently coast down to drop bombs without being detected, un,” Deidara explained excitedly, demonstrating the planes movements with his hands. “They’d have to climb out onto their wings in mid flight to restart the props and they would suddenly appear out of nowhere and,” he made a series of bomb noises, “and then restart their engines and fly away. They were really cool.”_ _ _

___“Who were they bombing?” Itachi asked._ _ _

___“Nazis.”_ _ _

___“That’s cool as shit,” a young teenager commented from the other side of the aisle. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees with interest. “Man, why don’t they teach that shit in history class? We’re doing World War 2 now and haven’t heard anything about lady bombers.” He blinked, noticing the way the two of them were staring at him. “Oh, sorry,” he said, looking embarrassed, “I wasn’t eavesdropping, just sounded cool.” He grinned sheepishly then pushed the yellow tape on the window to request a stop._ _ _

____‘Everyone here is really … chatty,’_ Deidara commented as he watched the boy no older than he looked pull his hoodie up over his braided hair and disappear down the stairs to a subway entrance._ _ _

___Itachi made an audible noise of agreement and leaned back in his seat. _‘I hope he didn’t hear you say that you flew with the Luftwaffe,’_ he added._ _ _

____‘What if that exhibit has my old plane, un?’_ Deidara gasped, sitting upright. _‘That would be cool! I want to fly a plane again…’_ he heaved a sigh. _‘Planes now are so safe, un… I like the open planes. They were so uncomfortable, un…’__ _ _

___Itachi smiled and listened to the blond chatter endlessly about old plane models and bombing tactics and how he had terrified all the other vampires at the time because he was one of the few who managed to sneak into the military forces, not to find easy meals of wounded men, but to join in and survive without detection. Deidara was terrible at history, but he could tell stories just as good as Sasori._ _ _

___“So, is this your Human Servant, Deidara,” came a voice from the stoop of a corner house as they began walking after exiting the bus with Deidara in mid story about his hoarding of information of the Wright Brother’s project because they were so secretive and wouldn’t let strangers view their work._ _ _

___“I am not a servant,” Itachi told the man as he stopped to face him, Deidara stepping in front of him protectively. “We are Silluetu,” he added to correct him._ _ _

___“Sounds like a made-up word,” the man commented, though the tone was good natured._ _ _

___“Itachi, this is the Master of Baltimore,” Deidara muttered, sounding irritated._ _ _

___“Miles Garoutte,” the vampire said, smiling and giving a deep, theatrical bow that caused his free swaying dreads to flip off his face as he stood back up. “Master of Baltimore.” Itachi gave a short bow and found himself smiling. Something about the man put him at ease and he knew without asking that he hadn’t researched Deidara to discover how to please the powerful visitor. The man radiated ease and friendliness._ _ _

___“Please to meet you,” Itachi said, taking his hand when it was also offered. “Deidara spoke favorably about you and your… batman policy.”_ _ _

___The man laughed aloud and folded his arms comfortably. “Well, I’m not really a fan of shitty, old school policies,” he explained. “I might be a young vampire, but hey… youth is the future. Deidara is good at adapting, why can’t other vampires?”_ _ _

___“I’m special, un,” Deidara announced, and Itachi could feel him relaxing a little._ _ _

___“Child Vampires are, I’m told,” Miles said with a grin. “Almost unique. I’ve always wanted to meet the famous Sasori Akasuna, but I’m told it could be the last thing I do. So,” he clapped his hands together, “I wanted to meet you, Itachi, but is there anywhere you want to go tonight? The night is on me. What’s your pleasure? We can go dancing, or visit a Marxist circus, or a tour of the historical treasures of Baltimore?”_ _ _

___“A what circus?” Deidara asked with intense interest._ _ _

___“I’m pretty sure they have a performance tonight,” Miles mused, rubbing his beard. “In an old abandoned church in Canton. All charity work.” Deidara looked so excited to see a circus run by Marxists, so Itachi agreed and they began walking down the quiet streets by the warm glow of the streetlights that made the trees cast shadows on the brick row homes._ _ _

___They spent the next several nights visiting different areas in Baltimore, escorted by Miles who was well versed in what the city had to offer, both light and artistic, dark and cruel. Deidara liked the complexity of Baltimore and Itachi enjoyed the history. Sam would often join them at night, or even with Itachi during the day when Miles sent his favorite human Dylan to give them tours, but every so often she would shy away from visiting certain places and say she was either too tired or had work to do. Deidara deduced after this happening multiple times that she was avoiding a certain neighborhood. Itachi hadn’t wanted him to address it, but once it was in his head, the vampire couldn’t let it go and talked it out of her._ _ _

___Her mother._ _ _

___And then it couldn’t be ignored anymore and they politely turned down an invitation to join Miles and some of his humans at a restaurant in Fells Point and took one of the numbered buses together to Hampden._ _ _

___The neighborhood was pleasant, Itachi thought as they walked over the slightly uneven sidewalk together. The houses were all uniformly the same and unique at the same time, square shaped and seemed to be pressed together, the fronts of the houses had yards that stretched out to the sidewalk with concrete steps leading to a variety of different styles of covered porches. Some of the yards were just grass, others had plant life bursting out of them. Between the sidewalk and the road was a strip of grass with trees growing out of it every several feet. Up the street were the chatterings of local store fronts and restaurants. It seemed like a nice neighborhood._ _ _

___Sam was walking slowly, slightly behind Deidara who was spinning a little plastic toy between his thumb and middle finger and walking with a slight bounce in his step. The vampire was much more excited about what they were doing than his humans. Itachi was nervous for Sam, and didn’t need his connection to Deidara to know that she was terrified of what they were about to do._ _ _

___“That’s it,” she said as if she was viewing her own death. They had stopped in front of a house with a wide swing hanging from the porch. The house’s sidings was light blue with white trim but the door was painted a red. They stared at it for a few long seconds. “Maybe this was a bad time. We should come back tomorrow.”_ _ _

___“Sam, you can’t keep running,” Itachi said gently._ _ _

___Deidara stuffed his hands and toy into the pocket of his jean shorts and bounced a little on his toes. “It’ll be fine, un! You said it would make you feel better,” he reminded her, grinning excitedly until Itachi gave him a ‘calm down’ look and he took on a slightly somber expression._ _ _

___“I know you’re scared, it’s okay,” Itachi said to his friend. “If I hadn’t just ran into Sasuke like we did, I would have been very scared to meet him.”_ _ _

___She gave a one shouldered shrug and continued to stand still, staring at the red door. “She painted it red,” Sam whispered quietly._ _ _

___“Is that significant?” Deidara asked, containing his need to move by squirming just a little bit._ _ _

___Sam gave a tremulous laugh. “It’s Falcon red,” she clarified. Itachi didn’t understand, but Deidara seemed to._ _ _

___They waited a few more very long seconds staring at the door before Deidara lost patience again. “Welp,” he said, hopping up the stairs to the front door while Sam tried to stop him as if he was doing something wrong, but he knocked before she could change her mind about whether or not she would speak to her mother that night. It had taken the two of them a whole day to convince her to go that night. “No answer,” the blond said disappointedly returning to them. “You didn’t dig up a phone number when you found her?”_ _ _

___Sam didn’t answer, but Itachi was pretty sure the answer was yes and was certain she wouldn’t dare use it. _‘Deidara… this is really difficult for Sam,’_ Itachi pushed into their connection, _‘I know it’s hard for you to understand what she’s feeling right now, but please use some tact…’__ _ _

___Deidara looked at him, his head tilted to the side. He looked confused, but hopped down the remainder of the concrete steps. “We can wait,” he offered, giving her what he certainly believed to be his cutest smile._ _ _

___Sam returned it with a small one, her arms wrapping around herself defensively. “Maybe… maybe tonight’s not a good time,” she said, turning to look at Itachi. “We can go get dinner? I looked it up yesterday, there’s a restaurant up there,” she pointed up the street, “that’s open real late and is supposed to be good.”_ _ _

___“It’s not that late,” Itachi said, feeling that to be a good friend, he should help her face this. “Maybe she’ll come back soon.”_ _ _

___“She’s back now, if y’all are talking about me, in front of my house,” said a woman walking smartly, though cautiously up the street. She was wearing work pants and blouse, with sneakers instead of dress shoes, which Itachi assumed was in her large purse in her hand. “Can I help y’all with something? If you’re sellin’ something, I ain’t interested.”_ _ _

___Itachi glanced at Sam, who hadn’t turned around to face the woman, her face blanched and various muscles twitching from trembling and seemed to be close to tears. She had recognized the voice behind her, he realized. The woman who approached looked to be in her forties, her hair dyed with highlights and twisted in an attractive style that was neither short nor long, her eyes were the same shape and color as Sam. Deidara looked at her with interest, his nose sniffing the air quietly._ _ _

___“A… Antonie Hudson?” Itachi asked, trying to recover from the awkward moment of silence._ _ _

___“Yes,” she replied a little more cautiously. “Who are you?”_ _ _

___“I’m, uh, Itachi Uchiha,” he said, then gestured to Deidara. “This is Deidara. And…” He looked at Sam, his eyes softening a little as he reached out to take her hand that was wrapped tight around her body. “It’s okay,” he whispered softly._ _ _

___Her eyes lifted to meet his and something about her look made him feel suddenly very affectionate towards her. He didn’t think anyone had looked at him with that much vulnerable trust before. With a heavy intake of breath, she slowly turned to face the other woman._ _ _

___Her mother’s face drained of color, her bag falling heavily from her hand. “Oh… oh, my god,” she choked out, one hand clutching her chest, the other clutching the iron fence for support. “Sammie? Oh, baby,” she sobbed, sinking almost to her knees in emotion. “Oh, my baby. You came back to me.”_ _ _

___Itachi let go of Sam’s hand and let her rush over to her mother who was holding her hands out so she could clutch Sam’s face, sobbing words Itachi only half understood. He watched the two women hold one another in their sobs and looked at Deidara who seemed pleased as if he had done all the work in finding this woman._ _ _

____‘Good thing that superstition about Christianity and vampires are false, un,’_ Deidara commented between their minds as Sam’s mother began thanking god and angels for bringing her daughter back to her after so many years. He hunched his shoulders a little as Itachi gave him a slightly stern look, and put on the persona of a cute, mischievous teenager and walked over to the two women, tapping their arms gently. “How about we go inside and have some tea, un?” he suggested, picking up the fallen purse and rubbing the sleeve of Sam’s blouse. “Or… or coffee?” he corrected with a frown. “What do Americans drink after a situation?”_ _ _

___Sam gave a shaky laugh, turning her head to face him while resting her head on her mothers shoulder to face him. “You’re so silly,” she told him thickly._ _ _

___Itachi came over to help them get up the stairs and into the house, which was difficult because neither woman wanted to let go of the other one. Deidara dug the keys to the house out of the purse in his hands, which Itachi was grateful for because he could tell the blond wanted to pick the lock because Deidara felt keys were a cheat to the pin tumbler locking puzzle that he’d been playing since the 1800s. The house inside was cozy, the front door opened to a staircase with a carved wooden rail and living room. There was a fireplace on the left wall, but it was fake and held an electric heater and a large television over the mantle. From their place by the door, Itachi could see into a darkened kitchen where Deidara immediately went to show off to Itachi his capacity of being a sensitive creature and make mugs of tea._ _ _

___“Momma,” Sam began after they’d been sitting on the sofa in silence for a few moments, staring at one another. “Momma, I’m so sorry.” Her mother took her hands, staring at her like a precious treasure and Samantha’s voice faltered and died. Itachi could see that Sam wanted to explain and her mother wanted to ask, but his friend’s carefully planned out explanations and statements seemed to have gone out of her head._ _ _

___“Sam was taken,” Deidara stated baldly as he entered the room, bringing mugs of steaming tea into the living room, handing two to the women on the couch and one to Itachi. He kept one for himself, but didn’t drink it. He had developed a clever slight of hand over his many years where he would eventually pass off his drink to another human so it looked like he had been drinking it. Itachi’s gaze went to Sam’s face, and was happy that she looked relieved, not alarmed. “Taken by a very bad person,” he continued, “but Sam survived. We rescued her and she has been living with us because she was worried you’d be upset with her, un.”_ _ _

___“Upset?” her mother choked out. “Sammie why would I be upset?”_ _ _

___“I disobeyed you,” she answered, so quietly it was difficult to hear. “I snuck out and went to that party you told me not to…”_ _ _

___Her mother opened her mouth again, but Deidara kept talking. “That person was very bad,” he added with emphasis. “The kind of person who had a lot of power and would wear white masks, un.” Itachi didn’t understand that comment, but the woman’s face blanched a little and her grip on Sam’s hand tightened, so he assumed she did. “That person will never hurt anyone else again, un. She came with me because he made her think she was worthless, but she’s not,” he stated. “She’s been helping track down other kidnapped girls and alerting authorities to help rescue them,” he grinned a little, looking proud._ _ _

___Sam gave a watery smile at no one in particular. “I’m sorry it took me so long to come back to you,” she said softly._ _ _

___“How did you find me?” was her mother’s quiet question._ _ _

___“Ms. Harrison told me,” Sam told her, looking apologetic. “She didn’t know it was me,” she added quickly. “I missed you every day… I’m sorry I put you through this…”_ _ _

___“No, baby, no,” her mother said, setting the mug of tea down and grasping her daughter’s face, forcing her to face her. “Someone else did this to us. It wasn’t your fault.” Sam nodded at her knees and her mother turned to look at Itachi sitting in one of the stuffed chairs in the corner and Deidara sitting on the arm of the chair as if noticing them for the first time. “I… I’m sorry,” she stammered, sliding to face them, though she kept Sam’s hand held tightly as if worried she’d vanish if she let go. “Y’all knew my name, but it… it’s still rude. I’m Antonie Hudson. Call me Antonie. You’ve been taking care of Sam?” She frowned a little at Deidara, taking in his youthful appearance. “You look so young,” she commented._ _ _

___“Nah, I’m older than I look,” Deidara assured her, uncrossing his legs and sitting up straighter to appear older._ _ _

___“And you’re…” she trailed off, looking at Itachi. “European?”_ _ _

___Itachi resisted the urge to sigh in annoyance at his accent and gave a slight smile instead. “We’re from Germany,” he told her, subtly pinching Deidara’s side as the blond giggled quietly. “She’s been staying with us.”_ _ _

___“I… I needed to see you,” Sam said to her knees again. “I lost a friend recently and… I just… needed…”_ _ _

___“Oh, baby girl,” her mother breathed, wrapping her arms around her. “It’s okay, Sammie girl, I’m here.”_ _ _

___Itachi watched them interact with a slight smile on his face, remembering the way his mother used to scoop him up when he had a bad day. She always knew when something was wrong, even if he tried to hide it from her. He missed the feeling of comfort and safety in his mother’s arms and knew exactly why Sam was suddenly craving the presence of her mother after losing Kit and Wes. He felt Deidara’s eyes on him, shifting uncomfortably on the arm of his chair._ _ _

____‘I’m fine,’_ Itachi reassured him. _‘Just thinking of my mother too.’_ Deidara’s mood dropped significantly and he shifted to wedge himself onto the seat next to him, upset that he couldn’t do anything to relieve the loss like they could for Sam as they watched the two women slowly dry their eyes and begin to talk._ _ _


	15. Death

The graveyard looked strangely like old land, just like Croatia, Venice, and certain areas of their home city in Germany did. He supposed the rain made the plant life look more intensely green. Moss grew over the old stones and walkways, as did the ivy crawling up the headstones. It was a quiet place for being wedged in the middle of the city just west of the very busy Lexington Market building. Itachi stepped along the narrow pathways examining the head stones worn down from decades of weather and people running their hands over the stone. He would have preferred to have come on his own, but Miles had insisted on being generous with his visitors and had sent one of his humans to take Itachi to some of the historical sites in Baltimore during the day. Mile’s human, Dylan, worked for of Baltimore’s historical societies and had looked over Jack’s list of places to visit, proclaiming it excellent. In addition to the list, they had visited a few old churches and places of historical protests with Dylan as his personal tour guide. Itachi remembered how Sam had told him that he should research United States history, and he realized as they talked that she was probably correct, not just for his interest in history, but for understanding of the experience other humans who lived on the planet had.

When discovering his love of reading, Dylan had suggested they visit this graveyard which contained the resting place of the famous author Edgar Allan Poe. He listened to Dylan give his shockingly vast knowledge of the site and other people buried in the little church graveyard while they walked along the smooth stone paths and narrow nooks with the trees enclosing them. On Poe’s gravestone, a small collection of pencils, coins, and other gifts were placed with care; Dylan explained that English majors often left things on the grave for good luck in their exams and essays. At home, the land was everywhere, green and flourishing, but inside the city limits the greenness was reserved for individual gardens. He felt this inner part of Baltimore was much more like Tokyo, very few people had much green spaces for individual use, but had pockets of lush green space that gave hints to the wildness the land was capable of. 

“Dylan,” Itachi asked after a few moments of silence, sitting on a bench to eat the nutrient dense salad he had brought with him. “Have you heard of anyone talking to Death?”

Dylan looked up from his sandwich, sitting on a different bench, looking at him curiously. “Like, the Grim Reaper, or are you talking about urban legends? Or fictional…?”

“I’m not sure,” Itachi admitted, watching a little brown sparrow zooming across the graveyard like a bullet on a mission.

“Well, there’s lots of legends and folk tales about talking to like… the devil, especially to make deals and stuff,” Dylan explained. “There’s stories in fiction about Death being a person who helps you go from this life to the next. It’s really only in horror movies and stuff that Death is very scary.”

“Some greet Death as an old friend…” he murmured to himself, remembering Sasori’s story so long ago.

“Yes,” Dylan laughed a little. “Why do you want to know?”

“I was told by a… friend that I would speak to Death on this trip,” Itachi said after chewing slowly. “I don’t know what we’d talk about, but … I’m not sure how to… contact Death without doing something Deidara would never forgive me for.”

“Oh,” Dylan gave a slight laugh – not the amused kind, but more the reactionary kind. “Yeah, our vampires don’t really like when we humans do things that could be dangerous.”

“Yes, that’s true,” Itachi agreed.

“You could try praying, like to a god… or we could look for a psychic or…”

“No, I don’t think Deidara would like that,” Itachi interrupted quickly. “Deidara doesn’t trust things like Witches and psychics. We have Witches we’re friendly with in our home city, but he doesn’t trust them very much.” He trailed off as he thought about Chloe and the rest of the Engels; he had talked to Chloe the night before and had felt a rush of guilt that they hadn’t been able to find the stone yet, though she was understanding. How could you find a single stone in the whole world in just a few weeks? The only thing he was grateful for was that aggressive battles did not go nearly as fast as novels and movies made them seem, but his friend looked strained.

A woman stepped into the graveyard, slowly running her hands over the stone walls of the church and burial vaults. She smiled at the two of them without really looking at them and Itachi felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Quickly, he put his food down and stood up to allow himself a more defensive position, but she didn’t attack as she made her way closer to the two of them.

“Hello, Itachi,” she said, her voice more androgynous than he expected and now that he had heard the voice, he wondered if it actually was a woman. “I’ve come to take you home.”

Dylan looked at the newcomer with curiosity, slowly rising himself, though he looked confused by Itachi’s reaction.

“Home?” Itachi asked trying to repress his alarm, wondering why the woman who had sat next to the dead man by the water in Croatia, plaguing his dreams like faded memories was approaching him like this.

“I apologize,” the person said, smiling a mysterious but calming smile. “I meant to home to Deidara.”

“Who are you?” Itachi demanded, forcing his thoughts to his other half, alerting him that something was wrong. He felt Deidara’s panic, he couldn’t move with the sun in the sky, but Itachi had learned to ignore the panic to keep a clear head.

They smiled at him again, turning to face Dylan who had a hand on his cellphone ready to call a number. Itachi wondered what sort of relationship the Baltimore vampires had with creatures who could move during the day. “You may call them, Dylan,” the newcomer said. “I mean no harm. We will be at their residence if Miles wants to send an envoy.”

Itachi began to say something, but the person placed their hand on his shoulder and they dematerialized from the graveyard. It was only a breath of time, but he stumbled when his feet met solid ground again, the nausea of traveling like this coming back to him as he gripped the back of the breakfast table chair with a groan. The last time he had stepped through a portal he had emptied his stomach in front of a group of Shadow Hunters who had wanted to kill Deidara. He was grateful he didn’t throw up this time, but it took quite the effort and didn’t help that Deidara was panicking in the other room.

“I apologize,” the person said again, taking a step away from Itachi and walked down the hallway to the bedrooms. “I felt it would be best to not cause your vampire more panic.”

“Who are—” Itachi began before he realized where the stranger was going. “Stop,” he ordered, using Deidara’s strength of voice of command, but the stranger didn’t even pause. Hurrying after them, Itachi put himself between the stranger and the bedroom door, gripping the handle protectively. Strong as Deidara was, it was only early afternoon and though it was cloudy from the occasional rain today, his vampire was weakened from the sun hiding behind the clouds.

Unfortunately, his vampire was also very stupid and yanked the door open behind him, growling defensively as he tried to push Itachi behind him, though he was too weak to do so. “Who the hell are you, un,” Deidara demanded, his murderous expression not quite hiding the effort it was taking him to remain standing.

“Deidara,” Itachi warned in concern, taking a step back into the room in case they could slam the door in the stranger’s face. It wouldn’t do much for someone who could apparently create portals without a crossroad, but it made him feel slightly safer.

“It is not your time, Deidara,” the stranger stated gently. “Nor is it Itachi’s. You have nothing to fear from me.”

“I’ve seen you,” Deidara growled. “You were that guy in Venice, un.”

“Guy?” Itachi asked, looking the person over again. He had been certain the stranger was a woman when he first saw them, and hadn’t been certain when they had spoken, but…

“I was,” the stranger said softly, then looked at Itachi with that strange, sad smile. “I was also the person in Croatia you saw. You see me as what you wish to see. I always find it interesting what gender people assume I am when we first meet. I find it is telling of their past. You trust women far more than you trust men, so you see me first as a woman. Deidara has had terrible trauma at the hands of a woman, he is more comfortable seeing me as a man. But I am neither and I am both.”

“What are you?” Deidara demanded, taking a painful step closer to finally put himself between Itachi and danger.

“I? I am what none can hide from and many try to cheat, I am mercy and I am justice, I am the last fate…” was the slow answer. Itachi frowned a little, glancing at Deidara, but the blond was too preoccupied with being angry to help him think through this riddle. The stranger smiled again. “I am Death, of course. Please sit down Deidara, you are exhausting yourself.”

“You are Death?” Itachi asked, alarmed and curious at the same time.

“I am,” was the answer. “I know you have wished to speak to me, it is now time.”

Itachi cringed slightly as he felt his own muscles tightening from cramps and reached out to grip Deidara’s arm. _‘Stop it,’_ he murmured between them. _‘I can keep you up, but it will tire us both out. It’s not worth it.’_

Deidara looked back at him in surprise, seeming to have not realized he was taking energy from Itachi, and the strain disappeared from his own muscles as the blond stopped drawing from their bond. Itachi smiled at him gratefully and gently pulled him into the reading chair by the window that he had blocked up to protect the vampire from the sun. “Stop hurting yourself to protect me,” Itachi whispered gently to him. Deidara only growled softly in response, his milky-dead eyes still on the stranger.

Death was watching them with a patient smile; it was hard not to feel calm under that gaze. Months ago, Sasori had told him the story of Halloween and spoke of the way in which people feared the unknown. Itachi had questioned whether or not it wasn’t death that people feared most and Sasori had corrected him, saying that it wasn’t death that people feared, because everyone met death in a different mindset. He could see this now. The figure before him radiated a calmness that made it hard to be afraid. The thing that made him uncomfortable was the way it was difficult to see the features of the face before him, he could not decide whether the figure looked like a man or a woman, nor what color clothes they wore on the shape that was neither thin nor fat, not tall, not short. The feeling of peace was a familiar one, though. Memories of the dreams came back to him and he glanced down at Deidara who still wasn’t paying attention to his thoughts at all.

“Have we met before?” Itachi finally asked. “Before I saw you in Opatija, I mean…”

“We have,” Death replied gently. “We first met the night your family was killed. The spell your mother placed on you was too powerful and too new to be able to distinguish friend from foe. I came to collect your parents, to bring them safely across. I rarely interact with the living, but your father requested that I would ensure that his sons were found safe from the creature he could not protect you from.”

Itachi felt his chest tighten as a wave of emotion washed over him, the memory of terror hiding under that desk, having watched his father die and listening to his mother being slaughtered and the police invading what had once been his only home. No one had noticed him until that woman had… but had it been a woman?

“Deidara has also seen me,” Death told them, turning a compassionate smile on the vampire. “You were near death many times, but you were taken from me… I could not end your suffering at the hands of your Maker when you were mortal.”

“I didn’t want to die,” Deidara said with defiance rather than anger.

“No,” Death agreed with a friendly smile. “You had too much to do, didn’t you? One day you will come with me and I look forward to hearing your story.” Itachi felt a twinge of anxiety for the assurance that the day Deidara’s chaotic life would inevitably end, though of course he knew all things had to end one day, but he was surprised that Deidara didn’t become flustered in his usual panic. But it was true that Deidara was not afraid of dying. Not himself dying at any rate.

“Why didn’t you speak to me before?” Itachi asked, wondering if he should sit down or offer them a seat.

“What are you?” Deidara asked over him, narrowing his eyes with curious interest.

Death’s head tilted slightly to the side with an air of amusement, looking from one to the other, but Itachi had the curious sensation that Death was looking at them as one person. Even people who knew they shared souls saw them as two people – even though it was naturally easy to consider Deidara in his thoughts, even Itachi still saw them as separate. The only place they were one was in their shared Mind Space, and he felt as if this person saw them as they were in that space. It was both unnerving and comforting at the same time, being seen like that. “It was not time to speak to you,” Death replied to Itachi. “And… once I was human. An ordinary human.”

“That sounds like an interesting story, un,” Deidara commented, his voice soft enough to catch Itachi’s attention. He pulled his gaze away from Death and knelt by the chair. “I’m fine,” he grumbled, turning his face away from Itachi as if that would help hide things from him.

“I apologize for coming to you when you are at your weakest, but I felt it would make the conversation easier,” Death said, stepping aside as Itachi hurried out of the room to pull out some of the blood packets they had purchased for emergencies when they arrived out of the fridge. He poured them into the tumbler they had bought from Zeke’s, a local coffee shop Miles had taken them to, and microwaved it. When he returned, handing Deidara the cup and watched him drink from the straw that jingled with the little charms they had bought as souvenirs that identified Deidara’s straw from the others. He found himself reaching out to touch the curve of Deidara’s neck, feeling the tightened muscles shaking from the effort of holding himself up and relented a little, pushing the energy he had to him. Deidara glared at him for it, but accepted the help.

“It is an interesting story,” Death said as if there had not been a pause. “You come to America in hopes of learning about new creatures of the fantastical nature, Itachi, but you must not forget that humans are also one of those fantastical creatures. Not only the Shadow Hunters and Witches, but those normal humans as well. They have no magic in their genes, but they do have science and used it to influence the world so powerfully that it affected both the magical and non-magical world. I was a student of alchemy. In the modern world, Alchemy is associated with magic, but when I was a student it was merely the word used to describe the study of natural philosophy. You might call it the precursor to the scientific thought in Europe, heavily influenced by the chemistry, astronomy, and philosophy Middle East and India and China. I found myself fascinated by the concept of the philosopher’s stone, which would grant immortality. You see, I believed myself to be the only one capable of forging a real stone. In alchemical terms, I am a perfect being.”

“What is a perfect being?” Itachi asked, finally perching on the cushion against Deidara’s legs.

“The philosopher’s stone is the whole and perfect marriage of opposites – spirit and matter, sun and moon, soul and body, masculine and feminine. In early Arabic alchemy, sulfur and mercury are used to represent the perfect creation. Sulfur is an active male principle, while mercury is the passive female. I am both male and female, both and neither. Am I not what those texts spoke of?” Death bowed their head and displayed their hands before them. “I was selfish, greedy, and foolish… In my insolence, I came to the Gates myself… I was granted my wish of immortality, but in the form of Death to ferry passed souls to the gates. A punishment I gladly accepted when I discovered my foolishness.”

Itachi frowned, glancing at Deidara who looked enraptured by the tale – his vampire always did love a good story. “Who or what granted your wish?” Itachi asked quietly.

Death smiled again, raising their head to look at them. “That will be a conversation for us to have when we visit that place together,” was the reply.

“Sounds like an adventure, un,” Deidara stated, leaning forward still clutching his cup. Itachi was glad he looked a little bit better after drinking the blood.

“But not one for you to go on just yet,” Death told him with a smile.

“We’re on one already,” Deidara agreed, handing Itachi the empty tumbler when he reached for it. “Do you know what we have to do next? We’re looking for a dragon.”

“Yes,” Death said with a nod. “There are many types of dragons in the world, all who live to collect their desires. The Fates weave your lives most intricately, for the Collector of Stories whom you seek lives here in Charm City.”

“Where is Charm City?” Deidara asked curiously.

“That is another name for Baltimore City,” Death told them. “You have found a dragon here. The Collector of Stores lives in this city. It is time for me to leave you for now before anyone joins us. You may see me from time to time, but we will not speak again until it is time for each of you to make your final adventure.”

Itachi opened his mouth to ask in alarm what they meant by ‘each of you’, but the figure before them had vanished. Not in a flash, or fading into a portal, just simply gone. He looked at Deidara who had rested his head against the back of the chair, eyes closed. “Are you alright?” Itachi asked gently, reaching out to touch his face.

“I’m fine,” Deidara replied, but didn’t protest when Itachi wrapped his arms around him to lift him up and return him to the bed. “The blood helped.” The vampire was staring at him as he usually did during the day, the only thing that didn’t die with him when the sun was up. Everything else was grey and dead, he had explained, but not Itachi. Itachi was alive, and neither of them knew why. “Where is Sam?”

“Her mother was off work today, so they went somewhere together,” Itachi explained, gently propping Deidara up on the pillows. “You shouldn’t have gotten up,” he added in a scolding tone.

“You were in danger,” Deidara growled, muscles quaking as he forced his arms to reach out and grab Itachi’s shirt. The effect wasn’t very good as his grip was too weak to be threatening. “Why were you with that thing? You were supposed to be with Mile’s human, un!”

Itachi gently removed his hand from his shirt and tucked it under the blankets, wrapping the blond up in a cocoon he wouldn’t be able to escape from until the sun came up again. “I was. We were visiting Edgar Allan Poe’s graveyard when Death came up to us. I was transported here, there wasn’t any time.” 

“You were scared, un,” Deidara growled, teeth bared in aggression.

Itachi gave a soft half laugh. “Yes, of course I was, I didn’t know who it was and knew it wasn’t a normal person,” he explained. Sitting down on the bed with him, he stopped whatever explosion of frustration the blond was going to give by pressing his forehead against the other’s and gave him a gently kiss. “I’m fine, please relax and don’t push yourself too hard while the sun is up…”

Out in the main area of the house, a small chime signaled the ringing of the doorbell. Deidara tensed again, but couldn’t stop Itachi from getting up because of the blankets wrapped so tightly and Itachi ignored his yelling for him to not answer it except to sternly tell him to stay in bed. He had a feeling who was at the door anyway and wasn’t surprised to see Dylan at the door with another young man, both looking apprehensive.

“Sorry to worry you, Dylan,” Itachi said apologetically. “Everything’s fine now.” He glanced at the other man and his instincts stated a word quite strongly. Witch.

“Are you sure?” Dylan asked, appearing to be attempting to resist looking passed him into the apartment. “What was that thing?”

Itachi considered his answer for a moment, trying to block out Deidara’s insistence that the two strangers not be allowed to enter the house. As if Itachi would put Deidara in danger like that. Death had left before anyone arrived to see them, maybe Death didn’t want to be known. Or perhaps Death was so personal for everyone it was best not to be seen by so many people. “It was the Grim Reaper,” he decided to explain. “One of the things we came here was to meet them.”

Dylan looked confused, but the Witch’s pierced eyebrow slowly climbed up his forehead. “Why did you want to speak to the Grim Reaper?” the Witch asked in a tone full of interest and meaning.

Itachi frowned a little, feeling suspicious of this newcomer’s questions, but he pulled himself back from reacting. Sometimes it was difficult to figure out whether his initial reactions were his own or Deidara’s. He chose to be cautious instead of being defensive. “We’re not sure yet,” he explained. “We are both fine, thank you for checking in on us…” he let his voice trail off, looking the Witch over again expectantly.

“Oh, sorry Itachi, this is Alex,” Dylan said, gesturing at the Witch. “He’s a friend of the Master.”

“Nice to meet you,” Itachi said politely and the Witch repeated the phrase. “I’m apologize, I know you have come to check on us, but Deidara is in his Suntime death and I can’t allow strangers inside.”

Alex’s eyes and lips narrowed a fraction, and Itachi wasn’t certain whether it was pleasure at being considered a threat, or irritation at being denied entrance, but Dylan nodded his understanding. “We just wanted to make sure that you were alright,” he told him, reaching into his wallet to pull out a small business card. “Miles asked me to invite you and Deidara to dinner at this location at 11:30 tonight. Sam is also invited as well if she’d like to come,” Dylan added quickly, his grin becoming less professional and more sweet.

Itachi looked up from the card in curiosity. “Of course, thank you,” he said, smiling back at him. “I will let Deidara know.” He watched the two men turn and walk down the creaking stairs of the apartment building and quietly shut the door. “I think Dylan likes Sam,” he stated, knowing Deidara would be able to hear him.

 _‘Who wouldn’t like Sam…’_ came the tired sounding voice in his head.

“Are you okay?” Itachi asked as he quickly returned to their bedroom. By the looks of things, Deidara had tried to worm his way out of his blanket cocoon unsuccessfully, which Itachi was grateful for, but it had drained the last of his energy. “I told you to stay in bed,” he scolded quietly rewrapping the blond up and pulling off his jacket and shoes to feel more comfortable as he curled up against the cold body.

 _‘I told you not to answer the door, un,’_ came the grumble rather than a growl. A good sign. Itachi smiled against the blond’s shoulder; he was so easy to please. _‘I guess we’re going out to dinner?’_

 _‘I guess…’_ Itachi replied, pulling the card out to look at it again. _‘It’s at a place called ‘Pho-Real’_

Deidara burst out laughing both inside their heads and out, though it ended in a soft whimper as his body rejected such an alive sound. Itachi tightened his hold on him, feeling the exhaustion of the day though it didn’t hit him like it did his vampire. _‘That’s a great name, un,’_ came the softer, though still amused comment. _‘I’m fine,’_ he added before Itachi could offer him more blood. _‘I’ll eat tonight… you should nap now, and I’ll think about what the hell that creepy Death was talking about.’_

The vampire listened absentmindedly to Itachi’s drifting thoughts as he settled down for a brief sleep, considering the new subject of alchemy and had a feeling that his human would soon submerse himself in the subject just as he wanted to do so for United States history. Deidara had little concern for chemistry that didn’t involve some sort of explosion, and certainly no interest in philosophy, but he did like space, so maybe he would like listening to Itachi telling him things about astronomy later. Otherwise, he’d be listening in on the boring discussions between Itachi and their friends Tal and Kali, another pair of human and vampire Silluetu. The three of them loved discussing philosophy over drinks together like they were patrons in one of the old wealthy salons. Something Death had said intrigued him a little; the fates weave their lives… what did that mean? It certainly seemed like an odd series of events, being led from one instance to another, but that had been because of Priscilla. Itachi’s frustration of their travels made sense to him – they went to Croatia and Venice because Priscilla had seen them there, but neither had anything to do with the grimoire stone they were supposed to be finding. This quest was becoming distinctly unimportant to him the longer they were away from the struggles of his city’s witches. He didn’t entirely care if they never found the stone. He was enjoying spending time with Itachi and Sam, enjoying Miles and the new city.

It isn’t your time, or Itachi’s…

He frowned a little, though he kept his eyes closed so as to not have to look at the world when it was as dead as he was. Itachi had gotten anxious when Death had said that, he just hadn’t noticed at the time. Did that mean he and Itachi would die separated? His own panic rose a little and, in his sleep, Itachi held him tighter, his heart pumping dutifully. Very much alive.

What was the point in speaking to Death then? Itachi’s irritation at this whole trip flooded through him as it did sometimes when he had nothing else to distract himself with. His human was good at keeping his emotions in check usually, accepting things that happened and adapting, but he was becoming frustrated by lack of control. Deidara understood that. He also liked being in control, but lately there was too much hanging on to him to keep him from flying. Itachi’s words returned to him. Perception… what was a few years to a vampire? How long had it been since they had left Germany? Had it been a few days… no they had stayed more than a week in Venice… more than a week in Baltimore… He tried to not think about it.

The Collector of Stories… he exhaled quietly with interest. That was a good title. The flying cats in Venice had mentioned a dragon who hoarded stories instead of jewels might know the story of the stone, which brought them one step closer to being free of their quest. But then what? Go back home and fight the witches? Did the Engel’s really need the grimoire to win? That seemed rather foolish to him, a symbol of unity that wasn’t entirely necessary, but then again, he didn’t understand witches very well.

He let Itachi sleep until Sam came home after nine at night, which his human wasn’t very happy about, but Itachi had been dreaming about the adventure Deidara and Sasori had had together at sea after Sasori had read the newly printed _Moby Dick_ to him. Deidara had enjoyed diving off the ship at night when the human sailors were unaware and swam down to see the sleeping giants floating vertically under the surface of the freezing water, taking no notice of him as they awoke ten minutes later and swam away.

“You shouldn’t have let me sleep so long,” Itachi grumbled as he stretched and sluggishly walked to the bathroom to shower.

“Did you have fun?” Deidara asked Sam as she came to the door, pushing the covers away and sitting up.

“Yeah,” she answered, fiddling with her shirt hem. Her smile was warmer than he remembered it being and wondered what her mother could possibly give her that made her so much happier. “We walked around Patterson Park and got ice cream at a place Jack suggested. Did you and Itachi sleep all day?”

He shook his head and got up, walking with her into the kitchen to make himself a new cup of blood. If they were going out, best to start the evening not very hungry and he didn’t want Itachi or Sam to feel weaker. “Itachi went out with Dylan to see some old stuff,” he explained as she leaned on the counter watching him. “And then Death came…”

“What?” Sam sputtered, staring wide eyed at him.

He slammed the microwave door a little harder than he intended, making up for it by gently pushing the button to make it start. “Yeah,” he replied with a frown. “They just showed up and took Itachi and brought him here, un…”

“Is Itachi okay?” Sam asked, her head turning to look back down the hallway where the shower was running.

“Yeah,” he muttered again, taking his cup from the microwave and putting his straw in. “They didn’t really say anything… just a load of nonsense about alchemy and that the dragon that can tell us where the stone is lives here in Baltimore, un. Then, poof,” he puffed out air dramatically, “gone… Dylan came with a Witch to check on us, and invited us out to dinner tonight with Miles, un…” He turned and gave Sam a grin. “Dylan specifically asked Itachi to tell you that you are also invited, un.”

He thoroughly enjoyed the way her face turned pink as she stared at something that seemed to be fascinating on the opposite wall. “Oh, really?” she asked in a valiant attempt to sound casual. “That’s nice of him… where is it?”

“Some place called ‘Pho-Real’,” he said and both of them laughed at the name. “It must be vampire owned or something since Miles suggest it… but it’s at night, are you going to be too tired?”

“I’ll be fine,” she assured him with a smile. “That ice cream place? Yeah, they had coffee milkshakes, so I’m still a bit wired. I’ll shower after Itachi… or you? Unless you want to jump in?” They shared another grin and he hurriedly downed his drink to bounce down the hall to the bathroom, sneaking inside to shower with Itachi.

Pho-Real was a small but well decorated Vietnamese restaurant in Fells Point that had a variety of both vampires and humans inside, not only the humans who belonged to the vampires, but normal humans taking a late dinner, enjoying the enticing smells of spice and cilantro that decorated the steaming bowls of noodles, the ginger and garlic dumplings, and the metallic twinge of blood. As they followed Miles through the tables, Deidara frowned a little at the smells, but didn’t look at the other occupants so as not to encourage any aggression to the new vampires at this stage. Maybe the vampires were drinking blood while they spent the evening in a safe and welcoming environment. It reminded him of places like New York and Tokyo, welcoming to all creatures as port cities tended to be. They were led into a private room in the back and sat down at a round table where there was a polite but firm debate over who was going to sit with their back to the door. Out of the corner of his eyes, Deidara saw the humans with them all share a look and roll their eyes before Itachi, Sam, and Dylan moved to the back of the room to make Deidara a lot less anxious.

“This place is owned by a friend of mine,” Miles told him as they all continued to stubbornly stand by the door. “She is an old vampire who likes to cook. Came here about, mmm,” he rocked back to balance on his heels for a moment, “twenty years ago… She’s real nice. And wanted to see you again, you know.”

“Again?” Deidara asked, staring up at him in confusion as the door opened behind them.

“It has been so long since I last saw you,” said the female vampire as she came in with a large tray of glasses. She set down the tray and began separating them out to each place setting, her nose flaring as she sniffed out each of the humans, her attention resting on Itachi a little longer than Deidara would have liked, but then she turned to face him and he stared. “You have grown so strong, clever boy,” she said with a warm smile spreading across her face.

His memories seemed to flood him with faces he once knew, trying to place the friendly smile, but at her endearment, he blinked. “Tuyet,” he said in shock and delight, her name coming to him like a childhood friend. Itachi’s attention became sharper across the table as he looked at her with intent.

“Yes, clever boy,” she said, reaching out to take his hands in hers. “I have not seen you since you were barely days old and look, you’re so strong.” Her smile was warm as she touched his face fondly then turned to address the room. “Come now, we are friends, let’s not bicker over the safest position in the room,” she stated, gesturing at each chair and giving the names of the other vampires and humans, placing Deidara next to Itachi in the corner where he could see the door. “Would you like to choose your meals yourself, or shall I surprise you?”

“Surprise,” Miles said with a winning smile, looking around the table. A few people nodded, one person requested something and Deidara glanced at Itachi and Sam who shrugged.

“Surprise, un,” Deidara said to the Vietnamese vampire, staring after her as she nodded and walked out.

“Who is that?” Sam asked quietly in a whisper that wouldn’t be private in a room full of vampires.

“She’s…” Deidara paused, his mind shifting back into the tree that had been Sasori’s dreams, imagining the threats all coming out from that one sleeping monster. “She’s my cousin,” he finally said finding the word sounding strange, but he didn’t know what else to call it. 

“Ah, I didn’t know this,” Miles said with interest. “She asked me to invite you because she said she knew you long ago, I didn’t know you had this connection. She is a great cook.”

Sam and Itachi were exchanging looks at one another, nearly as good communicating silently as Itachi and Deidara were. Sam seemed to not understand what he meant by cousin and Itachi suspected using his vast amount of logic, but wasn’t entirely certain. He knew both of them would be asking a million questions later; Itachi had dreamed of people in his past before and was probably wondering which this person was because names were hard to come through in dreams. While they waited for their food, Miles asked Itachi and Sam questions about their travels within the city and what they thought of everything. Itachi asked him about other supernatural creatures living in the area other than vampires and how they differed from ones in Europe. Miles didn’t know much about Europe, having been born and turned in America.

When the servers entered the room carrying trays of food, Deidara looked in interest at the bowls and plates of a variety of dishes placed between Sam and Itachi, then blinked when a bowl of steaming red noodles and a plate of crepe style pancakes and another of red jello were placed in front of him as well as a glass of blood. “Hey, clever boy,” Tuyet said with a smile, running her hand over a smaller braid he was using to keep his hair off his face. “I didn’t forget your request, not in three hundred years, you know,” she added, then took the empty seat next to Deidara. “I have been hoping to meet you again so that I can get your approval.”

“Pancakes?” he asked, shocked as he stared down at the plate before him. He stared down at the bowl of noodles, noting the smell coming from them. Each of the plates distinctly smelled like human blood.

“Is that jello?” Sam asked curiously.

Tuyet smiled at her. “Yes, but not one that you would like, my dear,” she said as Deidara picked up one of the jiggling pieces and squelched it between his teeth, delighted by the sweetened blood that coated his tongue. The taste brought memories of his early days came back to him, bribed with treats to learn to feed properly when Sasori refused to teach him because of the depression that clouded him after he learned he couldn’t feed from Deidara again.

He picked up his chopsticks and carefully cut the pancakes with them and took a bite. They were also made from blood, added with something that made it thicker, not fluffy like American pancakes, but thin, soaked in blood instead of milk. He couldn’t remember what real pancakes tasted like anymore, but the flavor and texture was just what he imagined them to have. “These are delicious,” he said happily as he took another bite, and she beamed at him, picking up a wine glass of blood and took a sip.

“I’ve been telling her this for months,” Miles said with a grin.

“Yeah, but this is the mouth of a child, not the flattery of an adult,” she said, still smiling with pride. “Only one person now can give me truth, and here he is, come back to me.”

Deidara didn’t respond, since technically, he supposed Sasori could have told her too, but he couldn’t remember if Sasori ever tried anything she made. Sometimes it was lonely with no other Child Vampires around who would be willing to play like the two of them did, but at the same time, he liked being unique. He turned to the bowl of noodles and used his chopsticks to pick up the blood sausages resting on top. Next to him, Itachi was smiling into his bowl of noodles as he quietly slurped them down, listening to the conversations around the table with interest, but he knew he was focused on Deidara and this woman. He always was interested about Deidara’s past when the blond couldn’t remember something.

“Deidara,” Tuyet said, her eyes looking past him at Itachi. “Tell me about your friends.”

“I’m Itachi,” his human said as Deidara tried to clear his mouth of the food he wasn’t used to. “And this is Sam. She’s from America and I’m from Japan, but we’ve both been living with Deidara in Germany.”

“I am Tuyet,” she told him. Deidara felt a little uneasy at the way she was staring at Itachi, but he didn’t want to feel threatened by her. “My Maker was Sasori’s most powerful Made before Deidara.”

“Where are they?” Sam asked curiously. “I’ve never met any of Sasori’s other vampires…”

“Oh, she is dead now. Feiyan was not known for her gentleness and something she chose to antagonize returned the favor more than she expected,” the vampires said, smiling over her wine glass at Deidara who tried not to look pleased at the praise. “Many of her personal court were very grateful.”

“I don’t think he remembers it much,” Itachi said and Deidara could tell he was trying to hide his interest while opening the floor for the telling the story. 

“Oh,” the vampire said with a light flourish of her hands like a lady at a tea party, “well, it is an event I doubt I will forget soon. I have seen many new vampires, but none as clever as this one,” she added fondly. “May I tell the story?”

Deidara considered the offer a moment, aware that every eye was on him with interest. He supposed he and Sasori were rather famous among vampires and not much had been told of their pasts except in wild stories neither of them much corrected to the point that the stories became memories. He did remember killing one of Sasori’s strongest Made, but not much else because that was all Sasori cared about. Angry as he was at Sasori, the pride his Maker had in him was always something he liked. Itachi’s expression was blank, but he could see the eager curiosity in his eyes and was a little surprised; did this mean his human hadn’t witnessed this memory in his dreams yet. Next to him Sam looked openly interested and around the table the vampires were trying very hard not to look eager except for Miles who had his chin propped up in his hand looking ready to hear a story. “Sure,” he finally said, squelching one of the blood jellos between his teeth, enjoying the feel of them.

“It was in Singapore, in the late 1700s,” she began, picking up her wine glass again. “Sasori Akasuna had come to visit my Maker, who was the Master of the City at the time. He was traveling with his entourage from a country in Europe none of us had heard of before. Many of us had seen Sasori before, though it had been quite a number of years since he last visited. He was furious because a Witch had tried to kill a human he had been keeping as a … pet,” she seemed displeased with her word choice, but continued. “He asked Feiyan to shelter this human and his followers while he contacted the covens to deal with the Witch, knowing that Feiyan was his strongest Made and powerful enough to resist any attack and would also not dare disobey him.”

“Sasori contacting a coven?” Sam asked Itachi in her softest whisper, but it was still picked up by the vampires around her.

“Sasori Akasuna notoriously hates Witches,” Itachi explained the confused looking American vampires.

“Yes, he did,” Tuyet said with a smile at Sam. “He wanted them to take care of that Witch, and they did, and afterwards he returned to collect his human. Unfortunately, we vampires can be short sighted when it comes to their humans, and he did not seem to care that Feiyan can be vicious has a known preference for young boys to entertain her.” A slight darkening of mood rose among the younger vampires, a defensive tensing of muscles, while the two older vampires didn’t react at all. Mile’s jaw twitched a little. “She enjoyed playing with the human because Sasori had only told her not to kill him,” she sighed a little. 

“They left us for a time, and the human kept trying to escape from Sasori’s hold to return to his homeland and finally Sasori turned him to keep him from doing so,” she took a sip of her blood and sucked a drop off the glass delicately. “There were quite a number of Child Vampires around at the time, though very few survived very long. Sasori was the only Child Vampire I had ever met until he brought Deidara back to us, a newly Made Child Vampire who he instructed Feiyan to teach control.” Deidara could sense a slight confusion circulating the room and, though he hadn’t Made any vampires himself, he had seen it done enough to know that Makers tend to teach their new vampires themselves. Of course, they wouldn’t know about the intense depression Sasori experienced after he was turned.

“At the time, there weren’t as many Master vampires in our area,” Tuyet continued, “those that were Made were often killed before they gained control to stop potential threats from rising. I think it was the first time someone other than Sasori refused to bend to Feiyan’s will, and Deidara was such a clever boy who knew how to push every button his previous tormentor had.” She threw her head back and laughed. “It was most amusing for those of us who were unwillingly under my Maker’s thumb. He used to disobey her just to see her reaction. He refused to use glamour to control victims like she wanted, but he did use the glamour to get new toys and games from the merchants. He refused to practice feeding as she wanted, but instead would purposefully hunt outside of Feiyan’s territory to stir up trouble with a rival city’s Master, and Sasori wouldn’t listen to Feiyan’s demands for him to control this new vampire.”

“Child Vampires have such a hard time controlling themselves,” one of Miles’s vampires commented, possibly to explain new information to someone who didn’t know better. “Supposedly, the mind of a Child Vampire doesn’t age as they do, so they have difficulty adapting psychologically and tend to react poorly to the Change. They lose control and become monsters and a danger to all vampires, so the Vampire Court has them killed if any are Made.”

“Yes, but this one had no problem controlling himself at all, he just didn’t want to,” Tuyet replied. “He did it on purpose and finally, furious that he was causing so much trouble and Sasori unwilling to help her, she tried to kill him.”

Miles’s grin spread to show his white teeth. “He got her?” he asked hopefully.

“He destroyed her,” Tuyet agreed. “And Sasori came out to see what had happened to his strongest vampire and there is this little clever boy covered in her remains and so very pleased with himself. But there was now a hole in the power structure there and my favorite visitor and his Maker had to leave us.”

“I’ve heard stories about Child Vampires,” the other vampire added quietly. “I’ve never met a new one.”

“I’m not a new one anymore,” Deidara grumbled, slurping up his noodles. He very much enjoyed the feeling of a bunch of tiny snakes in his mouth. Next to him, Itachi gave a slight snort of laughter, having heard the thought.

“No,” Miles said, still grinning. “But it’s a good story still. New into the world and ready to kill your tormentors with your bare hands.” He raised his glass to Deidara in a salute and drank while Deidara gave him a grin.

“I believe it was technically a bomb,” Tuyet corrected.

Sam gave a bark of laughter. “See, now that sounds like Deidara,” she said.

Deidara grinned, but looked around the table at the various reactions of their companions, but stopped when he noticed Dylan looking at Sam and thought about Itachi’s assessment that Dylan liked her. He felt a jealousy surge up suddenly; Sam was his, but he forced the feeling back down. Dylan wasn’t a vampire that would try to take Sam away from him. He glanced at Itachi, hoping the other wouldn’t be annoyed at him for being possessive, but Itachi was glancing at Tuyet who was still looking at him curiously. He was about to turn to the vampire chef and demand to know why she was staring at his human when Dylan finally spoke up.

“Sam, I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he began, glancing at Miles, who was between them, as if to check if it was okay for him to speak. “Are you the Sam that’s been helping the Shadow Hunters?”

Deidara gave a sharp growl of warning as every one of Mile’s vampires turned their attention aggressively towards Sam, who flinched a little, but Miles held up his hand and gave the other vampires a piercing look and they settled down. Dylan looked a little mortified and seemed to sink back in his chair away from Deidara and closer to Miles.

“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I mean… Are you the Sam that helps the Shadow Hunters find missing girls that have been taken by various creatures… I heard about you from Alex and wondered if that was you.”

“Oh,” she said, her face flushing a little and Deidara was glad her heartrate calmed down a bit. “Yes, that’s me…”

“That’s amazing,” Dylan said, smiling at her again. “Alex was telling me how you’ve uncovered a lot of human trafficking. It’s a really serious issue here. You’re amazing.”

“Thanks,” Sam stammered out, her face flushing a darker red and she buried her face in her glass. “I just want to help…”

“It is appreciated,” Miles said, tilting his glass to her as he had for Deidara earlier. “We Masters try to stop our vampires from doing such things, but many older vampires are a little too set in their ways and don’t wish to grow as the world grows around them.” Deidara watched him distinctly not look at one of his vampires who gave a minimal scowl. He grinned a little, knowing what it was like to be a young vampire herding a lot of stuffy older ones. “I hope I can learn to adapt and not be stuck in the mindset I’m in now.”

“It’s an interesting social thought,” one of the other vampires said with thoughtful interest. Deidara really should have been paying attention when Miles introduced them all. “Many of the younger human generations are raised to be open minded and adaptable, perhaps the next batch of vampires will also be so.”

The conversation took a turn that became distinctly boring to Deidara and he stopped listening, certain that anything important would be retold to him by Itachi. Even the boring things would be interesting when Itachi told it. He looked at his human listening to the theories of human and vampire psyches and forming his own contributions and gave a slight roll of his eyes.

“Why are you staring at Itachi?” he asked Tuyet quietly when he caught her watching him again.

She looked at him a moment then sat back with a smile. “He has an interesting scent to him that I can’t quite place,” she replied. “He smells much more like you than Sam does. Is he your current favorite human?”

“He’s always my favorite,” he growled quietly.

She held her hand up. “You don’t need to be defensive, I have no interesting in feeding from him at all. I was just wondering why he smells so much like you… if he didn’t also smell human I might have felt strangely that you’re the same.”

“We’re soulmates, un,” Deidara stated then picked up his bowl to drink the bloody broth.

She gave a light laugh as if she found him adorable. “That’s sweet, clever boy,” she told him. “I am glad you have been able to thrive in this world you were put into. Which do you like better? The noodles or the pancakes?”

He looked down at his plate in thought then gave a one shouldered shrug. “I think the pancakes… I like how the noodles feel in my mouth, but chewing is tiring, un.”

She gave a delighted laugh and stood up, saying she’d bring him more. Once again, he felt Itachi’s eyes on them, but his human had looked away when he turned his head. He wondered what Itachi was thinking, but couldn’t pick up any of his thoughts as they had turned back to the conversation between the humans and vampires about how many of the vampires changed only in the past decade or so were invested in human politics. An equally boring topic, but Itachi seemed to be enjoying it. He noted that sometime during the conversation, Miles and Dylan had switched seats and the human was chatting quietly with Sam who seemed quite interested in what he was saying. Pulling out a puzzle toy from his pocket, Deidara twisting it around in his hands to make up for his boredom, disliking the dinner party now that the topic became so serious and trying to think of fun things they could be doing instead.


	16. Nightmares

Metaphysics and magic were not his strength, but he was learning to navigate the unknown, testing boundaries slowly as he gained confidence. He was wary of magic, knowing the dangers of using it, but the strange non-physical freedom his mind had made him eager to explore. There was always a fear of something going wrong, always a fear of being trapped outside of the safety of his mind, even if it was Deidara’s who he trusted to put him back, but he couldn’t help his curious nature. At times, he worried about the closed in state of his Mind Space and how that would affect the way he acted. It was so easy to just slip into that quiet, private space with his memories and not deal with the outside world. Disorganized as his thoughts were in his Mind Space, it was still easier to visualize the chaos to sort through than to let his thoughts wander aimlessly. Still, that didn’t always help and he sat back in the chair he had provided for himself to observe his mental whiteboard of information. He had several of these boards on the different levels of his Mind Space for the variety of projects he had in his lap – studies, research, plans, and their ‘quest’.

Itachi heaved a sigh and rubbed his face over his hands. He had been going over the details of the ‘Engel Problem’ whiteboard, which he didn’t really like calling it, but it stuck, and found himself at a loss for what to do. If the followed Priscilla’s clues, there was only one thing to do: find the dragon. He thought about Death’s words about the Collector of Stories and immediately Deidara’s excited babble about what a cool name that was and how much he wanted a cool name for himself invaded his previously organized work. Itachi sighed in amused exasperation and worked to rearrange everything again so the thoughts of his energetic vampire didn’t mess everything up again and went back to thinking things over. He wondered how easy it was to talk to a dragon. What were they like? He hadn’t seen anything about dragons in his library and he turned away from the board quickly to avoid his thoughts jumbling up his carefully outlined work as he recalled Sasori’s comments on them. They were extinct, he had said, but Sasori had been wrong. The flying cats and now Death had assured them that there was a dragon still alive and could perhaps point them to the Grimoire Stone. Then there was what came after… If they found the Engel’s grimoire, they would need to return to Germany, and then what? Would there be a battle to fight? Would the family even be there when they returned? Would they be angering an entire clan of witches because they decided to help a friend? He was beginning to wonder if he would ever run out of things to be worried about.

Speaking of worry…

He turned to look up at the third floor of the library his Mind Space became, and suddenly he was there, standing in front of the reading nook that had been one of Deidara’s favorite hide outs when he spent the day time in the library with him. Instead of his vampire, there was an old, thick book sitting on the stuffed chair. He wasn’t entirely sure why his thoughts on Sasori were kept in this area, but he supposed in his real library, these books were the oldest things in the room, and he kept thinking about Sasori sitting with Deidara up here after Wes left them. It had been strange to see Sasori comforting the other vampire, not mocking or scolding him, but sitting with him and offering him a safe space to mourn his loss while the pain of the sun still bore down on him.

What were they going to do with Sasori…?

This was something that was plaguing his thoughts frequently, more than his worries for his friends. He suspected it was because Deidara was worried about the same thing, but for different reasons. If Sasori was able to feed on Deidara again, his vampire would never be safe. Itachi wouldn’t be able to protect him from his Maker. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Sasori, nor how he felt about how hopeful he had been that Deidara would bring himself to murder the Child Vampire who had tortured him for so many years. What sort of person did that make him then? If he wanted someone killed, did that make him just as bad as the monsters in his life? Did it make him just as bad as the one who may eventually kill Sasori? He wondered if Sasori was still safe back at home.

He gave another soft sigh, slipping out of his Mind Space for a moment to check on the world around his physical body. The sun was nearly ready to begin setting. Deidara was partially on top of him, sharing his warmth during his Sun Time death, but completely lost in his own Mind Space so he didn’t even notice that Itachi was back in the physical world. Content that his vampire was occupied, he stepped back into his Mind Space and looked at Sasori’s book that contained everything Itachi knew on the vampire. It was open for him now, ready to divulge his memories for anything he wished to revisit, but he wasn’t sure what it was he wanted to look at again.

He thought about Deidara’s trip into Sasori’s dream and the thought that had distracted him from his initial contemplation of their quest came back to him. He wanted to see that place that was Sasori’s vampiric family tree as well… but could he? He didn’t have a silken thread attached to him like Deidara had, but he did have an open access to Deidara… Deidara’s mind was Deidara’s but didn’t Sasori partially perceive their connection on his own end? His own memories and thoughts were stored in these books with very little writing in them. When he looked at them, he wasn’t really reading, but experiencing the memory. Deidara saw his memories in mirrors or portraits, scenes that replayed vaguely over and over again unless he focused on them. He wondered what Sasori’s mind looked like; wondered whether the constellations and threads of relations was something Deidara had perceived or Sasori created.

He looked at the door to the library that led to Deidara’s mind space, one door opened as usual. Itachi stepped right to the edge and looked into the nothing beyond. It looked vast in its emptiness, but he knew just beyond was Deidara, still in lost mode as he mulled over his thoughts of the day. Itachi had made a door that didn’t exist in the real library his mind space was fashioned after that took him to their shared space, maybe he could do the same for Sasori.

Dangerous… murmured the worried voice he associated with Deidara’s soul. Sasori would take advantage of that and try to get in.

That was true, and he didn’t have the practice in keeping someone out all the time. Then he would have to find Sasori through Deidara. This option seemed equally dangerous, but also the more likely to work. Trusting that the vampire would do his best to protect his mind and not close the door between them, he stepped as unobtrusively as possible through the doorway and into Deidara’s mind.

The difference was instant and almost staggering. Itachi’s Mind Space was quiet, but rather open because of the imagined windows and comfort he found in the library. Deidara’s mind space was vast, loud, and cluttered because his vampire tried his best to retain as many memories as possible. It was darker than his own and almost seemed like a closed in cave or an abandoned warehouse. He wondered if Deidara’s mind space always looked like this, or if it had become this way. He wished he could help him make it nicer, but the only thing he had been able to do was make the evil sludge that sometimes crept over memories recede when he was around. He suspected that it was Deidara’s manifestation of his own struggles, but his vampire never wanted to talk about it, so Itachi had a hard time speculating what it was. Ignoring it, the clutter, and Deidara off in the distance playing with a toy and looking at a portrait of the vampire chef they had met – so preoccupied and trusting of Itachi that he didn’t take any notice of him yet, Itachi focused instead on Sasori. Tal had told him that he could sometimes pull memories from Kali this way, though he felt invasive doing it. Sometimes it was necessary because Tal and Kali were both ambassadors, so he needed information and didn’t care to bother her. Deidara hadn’t yet tried to pull memories from Itachi, mostly because Deidara focused all his energy on the present, but Itachi found it difficult. It helped that Deidara was worried about his Maker, so some of his own thoughts were on the other Child Vampire, too.

The door materialized next to him, chained and barred shut as Deidara continued to keep it. It was still as Deidara had described it after Sasori had been turned human – flat and not really there, but Itachi could just see the magic that came from the door and disappeared in the distance towards Deidara. The last time he had touched this string, he had snapped it out of anger and the urge came to him again. Would Deidara be more willing to kill Sasori if he didn’t have this connection? Itachi closed his eyes and sighed softly. Sasori was the only other Child Vampire and someone who understood Deidara more than Itachi could because of it. It was Deidara’s decision to make and he shouldn’t influence such violence.

Instead of grabbing the string, he reached out to touch it gently, imagining that he was falling into the thread, but keeping one part of himself tethered to Deidara so he didn’t get lost in this new place. Nothing happened. Frustrated he focused on the thread and Deidara, visualizing what Deidara had described to him. Perhaps he couldn’t sink into the thread itself because he wasn’t connected to Sasori… but he was connected to Deidara, and Sasori had been able to access his dreams so why not the other way around? He closed his eyes focused on the vision Deidara had seen, the strings stretching out into the center point that was Sasori, stopping at Deidara who didn’t have any Made, and himself, separate but included, wrapped securely around Deidara. But he was in Deidara’s mind now, he should be attached to the star that represented Deidara. He imagined him leaping from himself to Deidara and felt himself falling as suddenly as if he had missed a step.

Opening his eyes, he could see nothing but memories grabbing at him, too chaotic to single out. They clutched and grabbed at him, dragging themselves across him. He felt himself beginning to panic as each memory tried to pull him into themselves, demanding his attention, all of them at once, trying to rip him to shreds in their desperation to include this new stranger in their mix. With all his effort, he held on to his bond with Deidara behind him to keep himself from getting lost in them and reached out blindly to touch the door that represented Deidara’s connection to his Maker.

Everything stopped.

He blinked and looked around, surprise washing over him.

He was standing in what looked like an old-fashioned train station, people bustling passed in long warm coats and hats, some sitting on spindly tables sipping coffee and reading the paper. Sellers called out prices for flowers, cakes, and news and, in a small bookshop, a boy was talking to a young girl. This couldn’t be a memory of Deidara’s or Sasori’s, he realized with growing confusion because the sun was shining through the glass roof of the station.

“I didn’t lie. He’s tricking you.”

Itachi frowned and turned towards the voice, spotting its owner quickly. He shouldn’t be able to hear what that girl was saying through the thick glass window, but it was clear and oddly familiar.

“Why are you telling me this? Why do you want to help me?” he watched the boy asked, still in that strangely familiar voice. He approached the bookshop and found himself standing inside it, looking down at the two children.

“I want to see what’s in your notebook.”

“You can’t. That’s a secret,” said Hugo.

“Good I like secrets.”

Itachi frowned again, looking from one to the other. Their voice wasn’t only saying their words, but reading narrative as well. Where was he? Looking around again, he saw he was no longer in a bookstore, but standing before a theater screen that seemed to encompass his entire vision. He took a step back in confusion, hearing the dialogue and narrative continue and noticed someone curled up on a nearby bed and watching the story progress. The figure looked odd in this dark and lonely place. He went over to them and decided to set his confusion aside for the time being, focusing on what he was seeing and not trying to understand it.

“Hello, Sasori,” he said softly.

Sasori didn’t answer him, but continued to stare in a sleepy daze at the screen, wrapped snuggly in Itachi’s own blankets from his bed at home.

Part of Hugo did not believe the girl. Maybe she was playing a trick on him…

“Ah,” Itachi breathed out, sudden realization washing over him. The reason the voice was so familiar was because it was Rose’s voice trying to make different voices for the characters. There was dialogue and narrative because she must be reading a book to Sasori while he slept and dreamed about the story. He smiled. She was such a kind person. He sat down on the edge of his bed, careful not to sit on Sasori’s legs, and began to watch with the redhead, happy to hear the young werewolf’s voice again. He knew she couldn’t enter the room, but he imagined her sitting at his open door with a book in her lap. “It’s nice of her to read to you…” he said softly.

“It makes me feel better,” Sasori replied unexpectantly.

He looked down in surprise. Deidara had said that Sasori couldn’t hear him when he visited, but Sasori was still watching the scenes his mind was making from Rose’s book. Looking closer, Itachi could see now that he looked mildly upset. “Were you not feeling well?” he asked in a gentle voice. “What’s the matter?”

“It’s not safe…” was the response, unnaturally quiet.

Itachi turned instinctively from the story telling dream to look at Something behind them. He couldn’t quiet see what it was, but the more Sasori thought about it, the more it seemed to grow. It was a Horror he didn’t know, yet it grew there like a paranoia, becoming more and more real as it was thought over. Itachi forced himself to look away and leaned closer to Sasori. “It’s just a dream,” he murmured to him soothingly. “You’re just dreaming.”

“Vampires cannot dream,” the redhead said, his hands clutching the blankets tighter.

“I know,” Itachi said. “Whatever that is, can’t hurt you. It’s just a memory.” He didn’t know why he felt the need to comfort the vampire, but he found himself feeling sorry for him. He couldn’t imagine Sasori being afraid of anything, but watching him hunch his shoulders and curl his legs up under the blankets as if he was trying to shield himself made Itachi feel oddly protective. “Your Maker is dead, Sasori, they can’t hurt you.”

“I killed him… I killed him,” Sasori insisted, pulling the covers tighter up his shoulder, then added in a slightly panicked voice that reminded Itachi of the dream he had of Sasori weeks ago, “where am I?”

“You’re at home, sleeping in my bed,” Itachi assured him. “We put you in my room so that you’d be safe.”

“Sleeping…” Sasori murmured as if the word was strange to him. 

Itachi watched him reach up to touch his face as if remembering something being put there and decided to change the subject before he realized what Mesi had done to him. “I came to visit… I just wanted to check on you and ask you a question.”

“What question,” Sasori asked, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

Itachi looked at the dream, wondering what book Rose was reading to Sasori. “Do you know a vampire named Tuyet?” he asked.

“Relation?” Sasori asked in a suddenly bored tone, sounding more like himself.

“Deidara’s early days as a vampire,” Itachi replied. “She was related to a vampire named Feiyan. I want to know about her and of Feiyan.”

A manic glee spread over Sasori’s face, one that he was certain wouldn’t have been allowed to be seen if this wasn’t a dream state. “Feiyan…” he said quietly as if remembering an old delight. “Feiyan was my thirty-two thousand, eight hundred and sixty-first Made… She was my strongest Made and held control over the biggest port in Singapore for eighty-three years.”

Itachi balked at the number he had thrown out. When Deidara had described the tree of his relatives, he hadn’t explained just how many there had been, and those vampires had made other vampires. He wondered if in, in some way, Sasori was related to all the vampires in the world with that immense number. How many humans had it taken to feed so many vampires? How could Sasori have remembered such a specific number? Well, he corrected himself, Sasori was possessive enough that that question seemed easy to answer. Out of all those vampires, all those humans murdered for food, Deidara had been found and favorited…

“Why did you leave Deidara with her?”

“I could not take him with me,” Sasori replied, looking at the screen again. “He would run away. I would lose him.”

“No, why did you leave him with her when you knew that she would hurt him?” Itachi asked, unable to keep the defensiveness from his tone.

Sasori was quiet for a moment, watching the dream being read to him for a few scenes. “She was told not to kill him,” he replied.

“You let her torture him,” Itachi said, his anger rising.

“She liked little boys.”

“You tortured him, too.”

“He is mine,” Sasori stated, hugging something close to his chest. A doll with golden hair. 

“He is mine as well, and I won’t let you hurt him anymore,” Itachi reminded him, wondering if he should just leave. Why did he bother talking to Sasori when he knew how angry he always made him?

The screen before them dimmed slightly as a figure moved in front of the screen. Itachi was startled, thinking that it was perhaps Sasori’s Maker, but it was the ghost of a woman in long Chinese style robes with a painted haughty face and long, silky black hair. A tiny silver thread was wrapped around her wrist that connected her to Sasori, much like Deidara had, but unlike Deidara, this thread was dull and dead, and there were more threads that moved away from her and Sasori, disappearing into blankness. Itachi watched Sasori’s fingers absentmindedly flicking and as he did, each of those threads vibrated ever so slightly until they disappeared except for one. Then the ghost of Sasori’s Made and the links to her offspring vanished.

“Tuyet was Feiyan’s servant,” Sasori said suddenly. “She was one of Feiyan’s Made and hated her. Most of Feiyan’s vampires hated her because she wanted them to see her as empress. She came from a different country and Feiyan had her work in the kitchens preparing food for the household because she considered her kind weak. Tuyet indulged Deidara when he first turned… Making him sweets and candy from blood when Feiyan tried to teach him. Deidara killed Feiyan when he was only one month old…” That manic glee returned to his face and he began to stroke the doll’s golden blond hair with gentle fondness. “One month… She had been my strongest before Deidara. All my vampires are strong, but she was a powerful Master. So many vampires had tried to kill her before and no one could beat her in a fight… and Deidara got her.”

The pride in his voice surprised Itachi a little, rarely did Sasori sound proud of Deidara and he could see how much that would mean to the blond. “You weren’t angry that he killed her?” he asked.

“I’ve no use for weak Made,” Sasori stated in a cold voice. They sat in silence for some time, Itachi half watching the story being told, half watching Sasori who kept shifting uneasily and glancing over his shoulder apprehensively.

“Why does your Maker frighten you?” Itachi asked suddenly.

Sasori growled at him, baring his teeth menacingly. “I killed and ate my Maker,” he hissed. That wasn’t an answer. “Millenia ago,” he added.

“Sasori…” called a quiet voice in the darkness. The redhead visibly cringed, but when Itachi looked there was still nothing there. But there was Something there at the same time.

“You’re just dreaming,” Itachi found himself assuring him again, trying to pull his gaze away from the Something that was nothing. As much as he hated what Sasori had done, he couldn’t leave him feeling scared.

“Sasori… come here…”

Sasori cringed again, shrinking into the protection of the blankets. “No,” he stated, trying to sound aggressive, but it came out as a quiet whimper. Itachi was struck by how small Sasori was, curled up in a ball under the blankets, absolutely terrified. He looked so much younger than Deidara. 

“Come here…” the voice crooned again, this time with a sense of power behind it and Itachi could see Sasori visibly shaking from the effort to not obey, but he was slowly turning around.

Unable to stand seeing him like this, Itachi reached out to place his hand on Sasori’s shoulder and was glad he could. The touch made Sasori seemed to relax a little and the Something behind them seemed to lessen a little as the boy settled back onto the pillow, clutching the doll in his arms. “The memory can’t hurt you, can’t control you,” he told him. Like you control everything else, he thought bitterly to himself. Ironic that Sasori was scared of someone who could control him like he controlled other people. “I’m going back to Deidara now.”

“Where is Deidara?” Sasori demanded, causing the blankets to fall away as he sat up in bed. Itachi realized that Sasori’s dream self wasn’t wearing the pajamas that Rose had given him, but Itachi’s clothes that had angered Deidara when he saw the redhead wearing them. No one could have changed his clothes; perhaps his dream self felt more comfortable and safer in them. A connection to Deidara. “If this is a dream, where are you? Why haven’t you woken me up?”

“We’re far away,” Itachi said. “Your body is safe.”

“You just left me?” was the appalled cry.

Itachi looked at him, feeling the growing coldness at Sasori’s shock that they did not make it their highest priority to take care of the monster who had tortured Deidara and threatened Itachi so much. “Yes,” he said, getting up off the bed. “We’ll return when we’re finished.”

“Where are you going now?” Sasori asked, still clutching the doll that looked so much like Deidara.

“I’m leaving to go back to my mind space,” Itachi told him.

“No!” Sasori snapped. Or rather, Itachi suppose it was intended to be a snap, but it sounded more like a desperate cry. The redhead had jumped up to stand on the bed, looking more childish than ever in Itachi’s shirt and shorts with his fist clenched tightly. Behind him, the dream story seemed to stop as if someone had hit pause. Itachi wondered if Rose had gotten distracted, or if Sasori had cried out in his sleep as well. The sudden silence was unnerving. “You’re not leaving me here! This is my dream, is it? I will make you stay! I don’t want to be alone anymore!”

Alarmed, Itachi reached his thoughts out to Deidara, grabbing tightly to their bond as Sasori’s mind began wrapping around him, feeling both angry and desperate. He focused every ounce of his being onto Deidara and felt the blond become aware that Itachi had slipped out of his thoughts. Sasori clutched at him, the strength of mind weighing him down. The prospect of being trapped outside his own body terrified him, and he couldn’t get away, but something warm that smelled like the sun and sweet spring air suddenly poured over him and pushed Sasori back. Itachi felt himself being dragged away from that dark, lonely place and gasped for breath as he plunged back into the safety of his own body and mind.


End file.
